An Unlikely Bond
by doom357
Summary: It was meant to teach him humility, and the crucial need for teamwork. It would quickly become a battle for the fate of the world. And, in the midst of it all, a strange bond will be formed between two unlikely souls. And it would prove to be crucial in deciding between the world's destruction or survival. JLvsTT novelization. DamianXRaven.
1. Lost Justice

DISCLAIMER: _Do I really have to say that I don't own_ Teen Titans _or any other_ DC Comics _related material? Well…I don't._

Summary: Novelization. Having been betrayed by his own mother and all but forsaken his al-Ghul heritage, Damian feels lost and out of place. Desperate to prove his worth he ends up making a life changing decision.

PROLOGUE: LOST JUSTICE

 _-Metropolis_

A monument to arrogance and an open target. That's what Damian al-Ghul Wayne, the fifth to carry the title of 'Robin', thought when he first saw the soon to be christened 'Hall of Justice'. It was a custom-built operations center and armory meant to serve as the de-facto headquarters of the 'Justice League', a team of superheroes co-lead by Superman and Damian's own father, Bruce Wayne, the Batman.

But, when Damian first saw it, he saw an easy target.

Trained virtually since birth to observe targets, whether they be people or buildings, with a critical eye, Damian almost immediately began to analyze how best to attack such a location. First, to say the perimeter was 'soft', i.e. easily penetrated, would be a compliment; there was no such perimeter. Just a bare sidewalk that marked the property line. A 'virtual fence' would merely alert the occupants that there were trespassers but do nothing to keep them out.

Second, the grounds were open and exposed. On the one hand, this prevented any would-be infiltrator from easily sneaking inside. On the other, this exposed anyone outside to a direct attack; especially from snipers. Third, and final, the grounds were large and spread out. This meant that any defenders could be easily separated and surrounded; or, again, an easy target for snipers. It also meant few means of funneling attackers into choke points.

And, in the case of tonight, it meant large crowds could gather. This meant a large police presence to maintain order. Smaller grounds would've meant smaller crowds and less need for control measures. Robin voiced these concerns to Batman when they arrived. His father didn't respond vocally, but he did narrow his eyes. This simple act spoke volumes and to Damian it meant he agreed. But, there wasn't anything they could do about it right now.

Still, ever paranoid, Damian kept his eyes open. He stood at the end of the line, next to Batman, as the Justice League stood in front of the building as the dedication ceremony got underway. Some of the reporters in the crowd assumed his constantly shifting gaze to be a sign of restlessness. Others thought he was looking at the plethora of attractive young women and girls in the crowd. More than one commented that he was getting a following of 'fan-girls' on social media. But, to say such that things were the last ones on his mind would be to assume they were on his mind _at all_.

Truth was that Damian _really_ didn't want to be there. For one thing, Metropolis wasn't his kind of city. Much too bright, busy and cosmopolitan for his tastes. It's mostly metal and glass architecture contrasted Gotham's stone and brick work and the open, rustic feel of Nanda Parbat or even Wayne Manor. Gotham _felt_ like it had more history and soul, despite its darker tone. Another factor was that he was the only 'kid' in the lineup.

Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg and Batman all stood to his right. Cyborg was technically only a few years older than him, a high school football star who was inadvertently exposed to alien technology that forever altered his mind and body. But, even he was still considered a full adult while Robin, only thirteen, going on fourteen, was treated like a child.

Of course, he could hold his own in a fight even against 'superior' opponents like Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke. Hell, he's the reason Slade had only one eye. And he did that when he was only _ten_! And he's only gotten better after receiving training not only from his father, but his former protégé Dick Grayson, the first Robin, now known as Nightwing. And yet he was still considered little more than a 'trainee'.

He didn't feel like he belonged here, either. Ever since his mother had shown her true colors, creating a clone of him, giving it accelerated growth, in order to further her own agenda, and then killing the clone, essentially her own son…Such a blatant act of cold ruthlessness shocked Damian's psyche. Surprising since he was raised by assassins, he should've been immune to such things. Under different circumstances, he wouldn't have bat an eye. But, when it's your own mother…

The only thing he was able to take any sort of comfort in was his 'job'. He didn't really know what else to do but move forward. He was Robin. He still had a mission, and it's what kept him grounded. That's why he kept darting his eyes across the crowd; looking for any threat. At first glance, one would think that scanning a crowd of thousands for threats would be impossible. Not if you knew what you were looking for. And Damian knew what to look for.

To the uninitiated, the tactic of 'profiling' has negative connotations, usually linked to racism. But, the truth was that profiling was a legitimate tactic when one employed it correctly according to the mission at hand. Case in point: looking for a threat in a crowd was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. If you were looking for a needle, you don't look at every piece of straw, you look for metal, anything shiny. In other words, you looked for anything that stood out. Anything that didn't belong. Among the crowd, Damian looked for anyone who looked out of place for the occasion. He found one; a couple clues had stood out to him.

The weather tonight was comfortable and clear, so most everyone either wore light clothes or a windbreaker or business jacket. No one was supposed to be wearing a heavy hoodie with hood drawn up and sunglasses on. That was clue number one. And at such an event, people would be focused on the speaker, or the 'guests of honor', the members of the Justice League. The police, however, would be looking the other way. The person wearing the hoodie was not watching anything, they kept their head down and face hidden. That was clue number two.

When he saw his 'mark' start to move forward, pushing past people, Damian knew trouble was afoot. "Father," was all he had to whisper to Batman to cue him in. Superman also heard this and looked over to see what Damian has spotted.

"Thirty yards," Batman said loud enough for the rest of the League to hear. When the 'mark' pulled their hood back, revealing a bald head and feral features, replete with all canine teeth, Robin was already pulling out a flash bang shuriken.

By the time he threw the weapon, the crowd had already picked up on the danger and had cleared a straight line for Robin's aim. The bat shaped weapon flew true and imbedded itself five yards in front of the 'weasel' detonating almost immediately, blinding and stunning the would-be attacker. Robin leapt forward and delivered a punishing sidekick to his target's gut.

When Robin's feet touched the ground, the weasel was struggling to maintain himself despite being blind, his ears ringing and now almost all the air forcibly expelled from his lungs. Robin compounded his dilemma but delivering an inward heel stomp to weasel's left ankle, painfully. Afterwards, it only took a strong haymaker delivered to just behind his left ear to send him crashing to the ground. He would be unconscious for the rest of the evening. The whole engagement lasted less than twelve seconds.

But, that was just the opening act. And, as Damian quickly figured out, just the decoy. A super villain had used the commotion to dart across the grounds to within striking distance of the front steps. Wonder Woman engaged this enemy, a nemesis known as 'Cheetah'. From almost directly behind him, cars began to fly across the field and street. Batman appeared at his side to wrap an arm around his son's waist. Both took to the air as Batman's grapple hook pulled them up to a building's ledge. "Get these people to safety," he ordered as he turned back to their assailant: Solomon Grundy.

"Like a shepherd guiding the sheep away from the wolves?" He asked incredulously.

"We'll handle this, but the civilians will get hurt if they get caught in the crossfire!" And with that he went after Grundy.

As Batman leapt back into battle Damian spotted Cyborg take to the air and Flash disappear in a blur to focus on their flanks where a man in a green suit was raining lightning bolts in their direction. He also spotted Superman charge a bald man wearing a powered exoskeleton. The celebration had turned into a conflagration and chaos as the citizenry panicked. "And there goes the neighborhood," Robin grumbled as the square quickly emptied of civilians, including the police who wisely decided to let the superheroes handle the 'bigger game'. "And I'm relegated to crowd control of a crowd that no longer exists," he said as Batman led Grundy towards a power substation.

A moment later and the lights in their area of the city went into brown out before coming back on. Even though he didn't see it happen, he knew just how his father subdued Grundy. The massive 'zombie' was an organic bulldozer of limited intelligence. It was a simple matter that he himself could've easily done. And yet, he was being benched. He spotted a trio of civilians who had taken cover behind a taxi to 'wait out' the fight. Finally, they decided the coast was clear and made a run for it. In the wrong direction.

' _Go figure,'_ he said to himself as he reached into one of his utility pouches.

" _Robin, report,"_ his father called to him over the radio. _"How's crowd control?"_ Damien tossed a shuriken with a reduced charge to the grounds below. That grabbed their attention. When they looked up at him he simply stuck out his thumb in the direction of safety. They complied.

' _Typical.'_ "Well in hand, father," he responded after keying his earpiece. "As predicted they respond like contemptable sheep."

He didn't really like city folk. They thought themselves intelligent, sophisticated and debonair, yet half of them were running around in a fray, clueless as to what to do. It should've been obvious as far as Damian was concerned: see the fighting and explosions? Go in the _opposite_ direction. Well, at least the smart ones did that. The rest either sought cover in the middle of the battle area or just froze in place.

Damian spotted an area, behind the Hall, that lead well away from the fighting. He leapt down to ground level to gather up the stragglers. "This way!" He shouted to a group hiding in a concrete bus stop. He pointed them towards the parking area behind the Hall. They nodded and bolted for it just as Flash brought his enemy down to ground level.

He could hear the villain plead, pathetically, "Not in the face!" He didn't know if Flash retorted or not, but he saw him oblige the request. He hit virtually everywhere _except_ the face.

' _Three down,'_ Robin said to himself as he spotted another group who were huddling in a coffee shop directly adjacent to the grounds. They too were led to the parking area and then off the streets towards the subway. More explosions were going off on the opposite side of the Hall.

For a moment, things seemed to quiet down. Damian was about to get on the radio and ask if the battle was over when he heard a 'boom' in the distance. He turned to see a blue and red blur burst forth from a skyscraper down the street. He barely rolled out of the way, coming to his feet near an MPD cruiser, as Superman cratered a few feet from where he had been standing. When the dust cleared he saw the Man of Steel had a small amount of blood trickling from his nose.

"What the hell did he hit me with?" He asked no one in particular.

" _Himself…apparently,"_ Flash responded cryptically. Damian looked up in the sky to see the 'Weather Wizard' flying up in the sky, howling in madness as a storm cloud gathered around him.

' _Well that's new,'_ he said to himself, trying to analyze the situation as Superman flew past him to re-engage the supervillain.

He watched as Superman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg attempted to subdue the Wizard. But, astonishingly, none of them seemed to get close enough to lay anything meaningful on him. Robin noticed that there seemed to be a certain distance, an invisible line that, when one of them got past it, the Wizard would hit them with some kind of energy bolt, blasting them away from him. It was like an active defense barrier rather than an energy shield.

' _Repeatedly attacking one at a time won't do it,'_ Damian surmised as a ring of energy began to form around the Wizard, who had been forced out over the bay. _'A focused blast will be needed to create an opening.'_ But, where to get such a bomb? He quickly thought of one: the Bat-Wing.

" _Robin,"_ Batman got on the radio. _"Get all civilians inside."_ He'd never go for the plan. _"Do you read me?"_ Time to take some initiative. And he was getting tired of being treated like the team's towel boy.

"I have a more efficient way to keep them safe, father," he said as he called the jet down to him. The canopy opened and he jumped in.

" _Robin, I gave you a task!"_

"Yes," he retorted, "as a human cattle prod. I'm being underutilized." He lowered the canopy and brought the aircraft vertically to altitude.

" _What's your location?"_

"Where I need to be," he said as he accelerated towards the target, "in the driver's seat." _'I have no idea why he never lets me do anything of my own initiative.'_ "Between the missile and the fuel cell detonations," he explained as he armed the warheads and activated the hydrogen fuel cells, essentially turning them into explosive charges, "I estimate at least a three-kiloton kick." It wouldn't be enough to threaten the city with the exception of a few small boats at the docks, but it should stun their enemy long enough for the others to get in and subdue him.

He quickly located the Wizard in the HUD and locked the autopilot for a collision course. "Target locked."

" _Damian, stand down!"_ Batman ordered as he raced overhead.

"Too late now," Damian said to himself as he grabbed the ejection lever. The canopy blasted free and he was launched into the air. Once clear of the plane, the seat detached and deployed the parachute just as the Bat-Wing made contact with the target. True enough, a few private yachts were destroyed by the blast but their owners were insured and could afford to replace them. And the only structural damage to the city were blasted out windows on the buildings facing the blast and a couple piers damaged by the shockwave.

He was temporarily blinded by the blast, but, when his vision cleared he saw Wonder Woman bringing a captive Weather Wizard back to the Hall of Justice. _'Mission accomplished. Though I doubt father will see it that way.'_ On that he was certainly correct.

The next morning, Damian was 'ordered' to go to the airport where a chartered flight was waiting for him. At first, he thought he was being sent back to Gotham. But, as was explained to him only when the plane was airborne, he was being sent to 'another team' that was headquartered on the West Coast. When he landed, he was greeted by Nightwing in his own Batmobile.

It was _not_ a welcome development for the 'Son of the Bat'.


	2. Premonitions and Nightmares

CH. 1: PREMONITIONS AND NIGHTMARES

She woke up in the middle of the night with a yelp. She was also breathing heavy. _'The third time this month,'_ she said to herself as she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and willed her heart to slow back down. On the fourth she had woken up after two pairs of glowing red eyes 'interrupted' one of her dreams. She shook it off as nothing. Then, last week, it happened again, after the team had gotten back from defeating Mad Mod. Stress, she told herself that time. This time was different.

The dream was much more vivid. In it, a knight clad in a long red hooded cape was trading blows with another swordsman. This one also wore a long, hooded cape, only black and wore back armor over the garment. She couldn't see either of their faces, they were shrouded in darkness within their hoods. Nor did she know what they were fighting over. But, then, in the midst of the fight, the eyes were back. And this time she heard a dark voice call out to her, _"Raven!"_

Her meditation helped to lower her heart rate, calm her mind and relax her breathing. _'It can't be,'_ Raven said to herself, hoping it were true. But, she learned a long time ago that 'hope', in and by itself, amounted to nothing. She'd have to take steps to make sure it was indeed 'nothing'. And with that in mind, she lay back down to go back to sleep.

Now, if only she could figure out what the two fighters represented. They weren't random figments of her mindscape, she knew that much. The Black Swordsman appeared to be the aggressor while the Red Knight appeared to be the more reluctant combatant. She didn't see the outcome of the fight, but something told her they were harbingers of something that was to come.

XXXXX

They had another combat training session the following morning. This one was a team effort exercise with the three of them fighting an army of hologram soldiers. They divided the enemies into sectors and proceeded to take them down.

The newest member of the team, who had joined a few months back, was Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle. The Scarab fused to his spinal column was an alien being that gave him armor and exotic weaponry in battle. She herself, Rachel 'Raven' Roth, was a magik wielder, with a focus on telepathic and empathic abilities. Of the assembled group, Garfield Logan, aka 'Beast Boy', had been a Titan the longest, going on five plus years. He could shape shift into any animal that ever lived, and utilize their abilities whether it was the speed of a cheetah, the strength of a gorilla or the nose of a bloodhound. But he was not the leader of the Titans.

That titled belonged to the one overseeing the exercise. Koriand'r, aka Starfire, but affectionately called 'Kori', was the second most senior of the team when it came to length of service. She joined the Titans not long after they had formed, after fleeing to Earth when her older sister staged a coup on her home planet. Both her and Beast Boy were the only ones that remained from when Dick Grayson, the founder of the Titans, had been the leader. The two of them, Kori and Grayson, were in a relationship but currently 'taking a break' as Grayson, now going by Nightwing, sought to find his own superhero identity before he returned.

"You were having a nightmare last night," Garfield said as he crushed a couple 'enemies' behind Raven. He'd always been concerned about her. Even before they briefly dated. That was just how he was. Their 'relationship' didn't really go anywhere so they mutually agreed to just remain as friends. But that wouldn't stop him from caring. It was what friends do. That didn't make it any less annoying. "I was just wondering if…everything's…"

"Look," Raven said, slightly snapping but quickly toning it down. He had helped her to manage that after she first joined. "I appreciate your concern, I guess. But, they're dreams. Just dreams." No need to get her friends concerned with something that was probably just a silly fear.

That seemed to acquiesce BB's concern and he reverted to human form…sans clothing. That's when Raven realized that he had arrived as a bird and went straight into battle. "You know you're naked, right?" She said as she averted her eyes. BB gasped, covered himself and scampered over to the lockers to grab a spare uniform. The green skinned Titan then went on about animals being naked, too, as he quickly dressed himself.

"I'm the entire animal kingdom," he explained giddily. "Crammed into one magnificent specimen."

"You're something crammed into something," she said folding her arms. _'But, what? I don't know.'_ She never could really figure him out. Well, at least he had high self-esteem going for himself. Beetle then joined them, with Scarab making a noise which Jaime explained as laughing at Garfield.

"Yeah, well, butt out, bug!" He retorted as he flicked the Scarab. Scarab did not approve and lashed out defensively. "Ah!" Beast Boy retreated, turning into a house fly to escape. "Keep that thing away man!"

"I told you," Jaime chuckled as he brought his 'partner' under control. "Don't annoy it!" Garfield took cover behind Raven.

That's when Kori came over to remind everyone of why they were there. To learn to control their abilities, work as a team, and find their place. Raven looked up to Starfire as a big sister. She'd never be able to pay her back when she agreed to let Raven join the Titans when she first arrived two years ago, when Grayson had just finished turning over leadership of the team to Kori. Letting her on the team was one of her first acts as leader. Since then, the Titans had become like a family to Raven. She couldn't imagine life without them.

"We're all family," Garfield explained to Jaime. "Like the Three Amigos!"

"Four," Raven corrected him as she gave her 'sister' a look.

"Five," Starfire added one more. The others looked over as Raven began to sense a feeling of reserved anticipation coming from her. "We're getting a visitor."

"Que?" Jaime asked as she turned to lead them outside.

"A new potential team member," she explained as they entered the lobby. "Supposed to be highly trained but lacking in interpersonal skills."

"Sounds like a badass," Beast Boy grinned. Raven just rolled her eyes.

They stepped outside as they spotted a car on the causeway leading to the Tower. It was a Bat-Mobile. "Whoa! Wait!" Jaime spoke up. "Don't tell me _Batman_ is joining the Titans?"

"No!" Garfield responded. "It's Nightwing! He's back!" He pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!" The vehicle pulled up right next to them.

"Not exactly," Kori explained, killing Garfield's mojo. "He's just dropping off our guest." The vehicle's canopy opened and Nightwing quickly jumped out. He was followed by a boy who couldn't have been older than Raven. The newcomer had a duffel bag, stuffed to the brim, over his right shoulder. Attached to the side of the bag was a sheathed sword.

The first thing Raven noticed about him was his uniform. He wore a dark hooded cape, currently drawn back, with a dark yellow lining. He also wore a black body suit with armored greaves and bracers. Over the bodysuit he wore a red vest with a distinctive 'R' on the left breast over the heart. Raven had heard stories about the new 'Robin' in Gotham. She didn't pay too much attention to them, partially because they didn't matter to any of their missions. And partly because she didn't really care.

The next thing she noticed was his demeanor. At first it seemed angry, then arrogant and dejected. But there was something more about it. Something deeper. She also couldn't help but feel a strange aura coming from him. It nagged at her subconscious and she couldn't figure it out. He seemed almost…familiar. She brushed it off as it just being the uniform triggering feelings of nostalgia.

Damian noted the body language between Nightwing and the red head with the revealing uniform, 'Starfire'. He could recognize sexual tension with a glance. Not that he cared though. He was also too busy analyzing his new 'teammates'. He was also surreptitiously dispersing a handful of devices one third the size of a grain of rice; one of the many 'Just in Case' items his father had taught him to use. Each contained a nano-mite that sought out body heat and imbedded itself in the target. It was painless and harmless to the recipient and hopefully, would never be needed.

"This is Damian," Nightwing introduced him. "The new Robin." Damian narrowed his eyes at that, wondering when everyone was going to stop calling him 'new'. He'd been 'Robin' for over three years now, surely they could respect that. Being constantly called 'new' encouraged the idea that he was inexperienced and therefore 'useless'. He did not like that.

"Welcome, Damian," Starfire said softly. The green skinned boy in the group smiled, excited at having a Robin back on the team. The taller boy with blue armor and a mohawk had a smaller smile. But, it was the girl at the end that was most curious.

She was about Damian's build but a couple inches taller. She wore a black, violet lined, hooded cape that overshadowed the top half of her face down to the tip of her nose. She had pale skin, judging by her bare upper arms and lower face. She wore dark blue sleeves that ran to her biceps, black, fingerless gloves, a dark blue corset-like leotard and dark stockings. Damian noted she had an athletic figure, but she didn't appear to be a 'fighter', more like a sorceress. And a sullen one at that.

All in all, he was not impressed with the group. Not that it was an easy thing to do. "I'll be in my room," he said as he walked towards the building, looking to drop his bag off. He was also still feeling the jet lag.

"Would you like to-" Starfire started to say something.

"I think I can manage," he cut her off as he entered the Tower. But, it wasn't anger that Raven was sensing from the boy. Despite his tone and acting skills, the empath detected his true feelings.

"That is one creepy mocoso," Jaime commented.

"No," Raven said softly, barely above a whisper. "More like…sad."

Raven was getting the sense that Damian was upset at being here, not because of them, but because he thought he was supposed to be elsewhere. She was also detecting a repressed darkness within himself, a ruthless side of him that showed in his body language. While outwardly he seemed calm, if brooding, internally he was a whirlwind of emotions. _'Probably just entering puberty, too,'_ Raven deduced. _'Not a good combination.'_

"I'd like to stick around and help," Nightwing said to Starfire. "You're going to need it with him. But, I'm needed elsewhere at the moment."

"I understand," Kori responded.

"It's nothing major," he shrugged. "Some black-market activity in Portland. After which I'll probably be able to, maybe, return back to Jump City."

"I would like nothing more," Kori smiled at having him back. He was her first friend when she came to Earth and he had offered her shelter when she had nothing. He became so much more though and she missed him dearly.

"Me too." He smiled back. "Fair warning," he said, all serious, again. "He's not like the previous Robin's. He's going to be a handful. If you ever need anything…"

"I still have your number, Dick," she gave a soft smile. "I'm sure I can manage."

Little did she know the challenges young Damian would bring to her job.

XXXXX

He quickly found his room via the directory. The computer controlled elevator was already programmed with the correct floor for the 'new' Robin. The only 'public' areas of the Tower were the ground floor and a special elevator that led to the tenth floor where a conference room and guest quarters were located. Everything else was off limits except to team members and other select individuals, namely the Justice League.

He set his spare uniform in the closet and noted there was an automated fabricator in it as well. It was a combination weaving machine and 3D printer that could replicate certain uniform items such as the basic clothes and carbon fiber fittings such as his greaves. He pressed the button to have the machine replicate six sets. He'd have to make other items, such as the titanium Bat Bracers, utility belt, and the Kevlar/Nomex cape himself.

Next, he put his civilian clothes in the dresser. He brought a few pairs of jeans, some t-shirts, several turtlenecks and other clothes with him. He also removed his custom-built laptop, with dual 4TB solid state HDDs and quantum processor. While not as powerful as the main computer in the Bat-Cave the laptop could more than hold its own against most of the world's super computers.

After that he sat down on the bed and examined his sword. He still used an old sharpening stone from Nanda Parbat to keep its edge and hone it down. True, there were mechanical devices that could get a better edge and hone it to a finer level, but sometimes he preferred the old way of doing things. Besides, it gave him something to do and made his weapon a little more personal.

' _I don't know why I'm here,'_ he grumbled to himself. _'I should be out there tackling threats, not playing summer camp with a bunch of kids.'_ And Grayson seemed to think it was amusing, especially when he told no to behead anyone. _'Like I would decapitate someone who didn't deserve it. Or that I was still of the Assassin's mindset. I would've thought that the incident with the Court of Owls would've disproved that notion.'_

Inevitably, his thoughts turned back to his mother's betrayal. To think that she could be so casual about killing a copy of her son right in front of him. Then, when they confronted her during the hijacked summit, she tried to order his brainwashed father to kill him! With a gun! She even called him, her own son, a 'bastard'! He loved his mother and thought, believed, that she loved him. And she wrote him off like a piece of expendable equipment, like a flat tire, cruelly declaring out loud, in front of him, that they could 'make more'.

And to think that he'd been in training to become that cold and ruthless. When he first met his father, he couldn't help but feel enormous respect and admiration for him. He could sense his greatness and wanted that for himself. Would he have been ruthless enough to kill his own father after a few more years of training in the League? He was still trying to hold onto the ideal of 'making the world better' alongside his grandfather. But, he'd been having his doubts.

With those thoughts in mind he decided it'd be best to do something productive. Like training…


	3. Hostile Work Environment

CH. 2: HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT

The Titans, like the Justice League, enjoyed some 'extra judicial' privileges so they could perform their missions. However, there were some conditions. They had to 'register' with the local law enforcement to keep the authorities apprised of their base of operations and roster. This registration wasn't so much to catalogue their identity or monitor their movement. In fact, it ensured that any 'stray' DNA or other evidence that might identify them was automatically slated for immediate destruction. It also prevented the locals from being surprised when a 'new guy' started operating in their jurisdiction.

Usually, the whole process was just a simple video chat with the local commissioner, chief of police or the mayor to inform them of the new member. This time, it was the mayor and police chief who were informed; the commissioner was still on sick leave. Surprisingly, the two of them were a little apprehensive about the 'new' Robin. They had heard he was headstrong and a bit of a hazard to public property.

But, Starfire was able to reassure them that he wouldn't be going anywhere without supervision. That seemed to go without saying since most of the Titans were on the younger side, with the exception of herself and Nightwing, whenever he was around. She was also able to alleviate their concerns regarding some of the 'rumors' of his training. "Anyone who has the recommendation of Batman would hardly qualify as a threat to civilians," she explained to them.

" _She has a point, Mr. Mayor,"_ Commissioner Carla Royce agreed. _"I can't recall a single time when Commissioner Gordon, in Gotham, doubted the sincerity or judgment of the Batman."_

" _Very well,"_ MayorAryn Kilgore replied. _"Have our crime lab enter Robin's DNA data into the system and have it marked for immediate destruction. Then, let's make sure the state authorities get the same info."_

" _Governor Hawkins is leaning anti-vigilante in his policies,"_ the chief responded.

" _Regardless, he's bound by both federal and state law. That's how things are supposed to work in a republic; rule of law."_

" _Very well, Mr. Mayor,"_ the chief then addressed Starfire. _"Take care of your new charge, Ms. Starfire. And…good luck."_ And with that, the call quickly ended and Kori got to work getting Robin's biometric data uploaded into the Tower's data banks.

Meanwhile, after a brief meditation period on the roof, to internalize the information and emotions she got from the new arrival, Raven headed back down to the hologram room. Kori had dismissed them for a short break before they'd resume their training. The three of them were going to run scenarios while the leader took care of some administrative work regarding Robin.

But, when she arrived, the new kid was already hard at a personal training regimen, battling wave after wave of holographic ninjas. For a few minutes, she watched as he dodged, parried and counter-attacked each enemy. She was impressed by his swordsmanship and stamina. She also found it curious that his style of fighting seemed familiar; but she couldn't remember where she saw it. So, she resigned herself to leaning against the entrance to wait things out.

A few minutes later, Kori came down to check on their progress only to find the three of them standing outside the ring watching Damian 'hog' the simulator. Damian sliced one hologram in half before pivoting and cutting a recovering opponent, length wise, down the middle. The simulator reset with five more enemies, arrayed in a circle around him. _'He has it set to random?'_ Raven noted with mild curiosity. The previous scenario had given him eight opponents arrayed directly in front of him. _'Brave.'_

"He hasn't stopped for an hour-and-a-half," Jaime commented off-handedly, almost not believing it himself. _'Talk about commitment.'_ Two ninjas had already been killed.

"Damian," Kori spoke up as Robin blocked more sword strikes. The computer spawned another opponent as a 'surprise' combatant. "It's time to let others have their turn."

"I'm not," he grunted as he flipped over the 'surprise' ninja before inverting his sword and stabbing behind him, striking the enemy in the kidneys, "finished!" He then swung the blade around and cut through the mid-section of another ninja. He turned to face the remaining two when they suddenly dissolved right in front of him.

Looking to the control console he already knew why. Someone, in this case, the Blue Beetle, had turned off the simulator. "Gee," the Hispanic Titan shrugged sarcastically. "How'd that happen?" Damian wasn't a fan of pranks. Or of people who interrupted his training. And others would do well not to do either. It invites…retaliation. "Ah!" Jaime shouted as Scarab shot down the shuriken Damian snap threw at him. Garfield and Kira were shocked as well. Not Raven. She saw that Robin held back and threw an inert shuriken. He wasn't about to actually hurt Jaime. "What the hell!?" But, that didn't mean the Blue Beetle liked it.

"I heard your tech was fast," Damian smirked. "I wanted to see how fast."

' _And now he knows,'_ Raven said to herself. _'He's sizing us up. Getting a baseline for our abilities.'_ She knew he had to be careful, though. Jaime could still be easily provoked as well.

"Don't mess with us, little man," the provoked teen marched forward. Case in point. Seeing a potential challenge, Damian raised his sword as Kori flew forward to forestall any confrontation.

"Alright," she said gently pushing the two away. "I can see we're all getting off on the," she paused for a second before turning to Damian, "wrong foot." Jaime took a step back and took a breath to calm down. Damian simply glared at her. "Damian," she said folding her arms behind her back, "this is a team effort. We have to be willing to accommodate others."

"Nightwing said you were a princess," he said in an almost mocking tone before sheathing his ninjato. "Exiled, no doubt."

"Technically, it was a coup," she clarified in an annoyed tone. "And like it or not I am the leader of this group."

"As I see it, you're an alien with nowhere else to go." _'Just like everyone else here.'_ As far as he could tell, this was where the Justice League sent the ones who didn't 'fit in' with their grandstanding 'team'. Damian didn't like the idea of being an outcast. Raven recognized his train of thought and tried to intervene.

"Everyone needs a home, Damian," the quietest member of the group said stepping forward. Her arms were still crossed. "You included."

She had recognized the source of his agitation with the comments he was making. Specifically, in his choice of words: 'exile', 'nowhere else to go', etc. He thought they were all banished here, just like he was. Damian knew this, too. But he didn't like being called out on it. "Thank you for chiming in, witch girl," he retorted. Kori stepped forward to cut off anymore confrontation between the teens.

"We are only here to help you realize your potential," she said, trying to sound encouraging. He wasn't feeling encouraged. More like scolded for no reason.

"You've been here long enough," he shot back, lowering his arms as he prepared to walk away, "when do you think you'll realize yours?" He tried to march away, not wanting to stick around and get into an argument.

He may be being hostile, but that didn't mean he wanted to start a fight. Raven sensed his reluctance to do so. Unfortunately, she was the only one who could. Jaime, always the over-protective brother-type, made the innocent mistake of placing his hand on Damian to stop him. "Dude!" He snapped at him. "You need to show some respect!" Now, had he simply said that, Damian probably would've just ignored him. But, placing his hand on him…that pushed him over.

Damian used a hapkido technique taught to him by Nightwing. He placed his left hand on Jaime's wrist for control. Then he twisted his body in the direction Jaime was pushing, using the older boy's energy against him. This allowed Damian to apply leverage to the teen's upper arm, exposing him for the knee strike that stunned him. Damian followed up with a sidekick that sent Blue Beetle to the edge of the ring.

"Oh, no," Raven muttered as she realized that, despite neither of them wanting to start a fight, that's exactly what happened.

Jaime rose back to his feet, going into battle mode with his armatures morphing into arm-blades. Damian drew his sword and engaged before Kori could stop him. Damian used a classic strategy of feeling out his opponent with probing attacks, gauging reaction time and reflex patterns. After a couple blocked strikes the blades became entangled. "Who's fighting me?" Damian asked as Jaime struggled against him. "You or the bug?"

"You better hope it's…me," he grunted. _'He's stronger than he looks!'_ He realized as he pushed Damian away. The two then resumed trading blows. Even though he was holding back he was still surprised by Robin's skill, speed and agility.

Beetle went for a double downward swipe but Robin easily blocked it. The Scarab got in on the fight and lashed out with two of its legs, forcing Robin to backflip away. Almost on reflex he then threw a pair of concussion shuriken at Beetle which detonated and sent him flying into the wall. Thinking he had a full assessment of Jaime and the 'bug', and feeling a little over confident, Damian marched up to his stunned opponent. "That's the difference between you and me," he said, gloating. "You wear a weapon…I _am_ a weapon." Before Raven could muse on his choice of words the Scarab reacted.

Jaime's eyes glowed red and he snapped in Robin's direction as an energy blast burst from his chest piece. Damian caught the blast almost dead on at near point-blank-range and was thrown back to the center of the ring, his head smoldering like a piece of charcoal. Beetle was hot on his heels, arm cannon charging, ready to finish the enemy target when he was cut off by one of Starfire's energy bolts.

"Enough!" She shouted at him. This brought Jaime back to his senses and he was able to get Scarab under control. He deactivated his battle mode as she raced to Damian's side. He wasn't moving.

"I tried to stop it," Jaime said as Kori rolled Damian over. "Dios mio…" Robin looked worse than he thought he would've. "Is he dead?" The left side of his face looked like one solid blister. Total third degree burn throughout the affected area. He didn't even want to think about the damage that was beneath his skin. The heat from the blast could've easily fried internal organs including the brain. _That_ would almost certainly be fatal. It was why heat stroke could be a serious injury, the brain literally starts to cook. And Robin had just had his head exposed to a plasma-based blast furnace.

"He's still alive," Kori said softly. "Barely." _'And not for long…'_

"This is gonna be an awkward call to Batman," Garfield commented almost getting a retaliatory retort from Jaime. He was feeling ashamed at not being able to control his 'partner' and keep it from lashing out. Scarab just didn't like being called a 'weapon'.

"Everyone get back," Raven said as she stepped forward. He may not have been the most-polite of guests, but that didn't mean Damian deserved to die or suffer for his youthful rebelliousness. Kori gently lay Robin's head back as the 'witch girl' knelt behind him. He was groaning and barely breathing. "By the powers of Azarath," Raven began her spell, gently placing her hands just a hair on either side of his face, "I beseech you…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

And with that, her spell began to wash over Damian's wounds, both external and internal. As it did so, her emphatic powers began to mingle with his brain waves. His emotional state was more agitated than she had thought and so some of his thoughts and memories began to flow into her. She hadn't anticipated this and was unable to block them all.

She saw him, a few years younger, standing in a mountain fortress with an older man. Both were wearing nearly identical black armor. _'Grandfather…'_ The title stood out along as she recognized the face from the database. _'Ra's al-Ghul!'_ At the memory, she detected conflicting emotions: anger, reverence, longing, love and blinding hatred. As if the man had some kind of emotional hold over Damian, keeping him from being able to move past the memory of the deceased warrior.

She saw the fortress on fire. Then she saw him, in ninja garb, battling Nightwing in some downtown area. The burns on his face began to recede, but not the flow of memories. Next, she saw him on a rooftop, now dressed as Robin, sensing a feeling of purpose as he followed Batman along the roofs. She also felt a bond between him and the Dark Knight that went beyond mere 'partnership'. Next, she saw an 'older Damian', she knew it was him. But, he was an adult. And he was holding a pair of forty-five caliber pistols. Was this how he saw himself? No. She sensed an overwhelming sensation of fear at the image. He was afraid of the 'older Damian'. Why?

Finally, overwhelmed by the flood of emotions coming from the boy, and sensing that her spell had accomplished its task, Raven's eyes flared and her energy drained. Kori caught her as she fell to her side. "We need to get her back to her room," the older woman said. She'd need rest, but first she needed to make sure she didn't suffer any lingering psychic damage. "Garfield?" The Beast Boy shifted into a gorilla and gently picked her up just as Robin was regaining consciousness.

He was disoriented, and confused. Last thing he remembered was a bright light and searing hot pain. Then, he had _felt_ someone in his mind. And he also felt that person's mind. He didn't recall much else besides a dark figure with glowing eyes. "Wha…what happened?" He asked as he rolled over and looked up at the group as a big green gorilla carried an unconscious Raven away.

"Raven healed you," Starfire said matter-of-factly. "We have to tend to her." She then followed Garfield, as did Beetle. Beetle paused and shot him a defeated look.

"Sorry," he said evenly before continuing after the others. They just left Damian on the floor.

As the doors closed behind them, Bruce Wayne's son sat up and ran a hand over his face. His skin was unmarked but it still felt weird. Like he had been injected with Novocain and it was now wearing off. But, having half his face melted off and then 'grown back' seconds later wasn't the part that had him freaked. It was what he 'saw' while he was briefly comatose. Whatever that man, thing, creature, whatever it was, he could recall only one thing. A feeling of utter dread.

That being was evil. And Raven was scared of it.


	4. Spirits and Demons

CH. 3: SPIRITS AND DEMONS

He avoided the Titans for the rest of the day. Not out of anger towards them, but towards himself. That, and he was still feeling unnerved by the 'healing process' he went through at the end of his impromptu fight with Jaime. For lunch, he simply grabbed a plate of food, chicken fettuccini alfredo with broccoli, and retreated back to his room to 'process'. Starfire stopped by during his meal to see if he was alright.

He was surprised she didn't try to scold him. His father would've. Not that she would've had to. Nearly having your face burned off by an alien plasma weapon was enough to humble anyone, even the great Damian al-Ghul Wayne. He simply told her that he needed time to think. Truth was, just 'thinking' was not helping any at all. So, he tried practicing some of his sword katas.

This, too, did little to calm his thoughts. He felt distracted, unable to get the image of the 'dark lord' out of his mind. At the mere thought of this entity he felt fear, hatred and revulsion. Like if you were looking Hitler dead in the eye. The only other person who could've provoked such thoughts and emotions in him was Slade Wilson. And he did _not_ want to think about him at the moment.

But, beings of evil incarnate weren't the only cause of his current state of unease. It was Raven. She had healed him even though he probably deserved what he had gotten. Being honest with himself, he had been a total asshole. He was angry at being banished out here and he was taking it out on people who had nothing to do with it. And yet, she had healed his almost certainly mortal wound.

Despite being 'super heroes', he wasn't 'one of them' and, what's more, his actions were more like that of an anti-hero at best, enemy at worst. So why? Why did she do it? _'I all but started the fight,'_ he said to himself as he spun the sword. _'Why did I do that? What was I trying to prove? That I was better? I'm above such petty concerns.'_ But, there was still one inescapable feeling he thought was the 'truth'. _'I don't belong here.'_ He ground his teeth as he realized he didn't seem to belong anywhere. And he was venting it at others who were supposed to be on the same side as him; such dishonorable behavior was not expected of him, anywhere. _'I'm such a jerk!'_ He snapped at himself as he threw the sword at the wall.

"Ah!" He heard a voice cry out from the other side.

' _Case in point,'_ he cursed himself as he heard a bear growl through the wall.

"Hey!" Garfield shouted as his paw pounded on the wall. "What is wrong with you!? That is very dangerous!" At that moment, Damian spotted movement on the grounds below. Barely perceptible in the dark, even with the small candle light.

' _Raven?'_ Somehow, he knew who it was before he even looked.

"You could put out an eye with that thing!" Little did Beast Boy know that it was technically too late for _that_. They didn't know it, but on the other side of the world, someone sneezed. "Didn't your mother tell you not to play with knives!?" Whether it was curiosity, gratitude or, something else, Damian grabbed one of his hoodies and headed for the ground floor, suddenly feeling the urge to speak with her.

XXXXX

He headed into the small grove that was behind the Tower. There was a small light up ahead in the brush. He moved as quickly but as quietly as he could. He wasn't trying to sneak up or spy on her. He just had a feeling that he might be intruding and didn't want to disturb her.

Again, he found this feeling of concern, or respect, odd. He normally wasn't like that. Normally he'd just barge in. But, ever since he came to he's been feeling…odd. He paused as he heard Raven's voice up ahead. _'What's she doing?'_

"Mother spirit of the Nether-Realm," she said in a monotone voice, chanting some kind of prayer. He could barely make it out, but it sounded less like a request for herself and more like an incantation. It sounded like a spell. But for what he couldn't make out. And, truth was, magic unnerved him somewhat. Both he and his father preferred science and hard data. Logic and statistics were more important, and reliable, than mysticism.

He came to the clearing as he felt a brief wave of warm air around him. He brushed it off as a random change in the air temperature. An air pocket he'd happened to walk through. He HhHhhfihfhiHe also saw the source of the light, a set of incense sticks stuck into a small brass altar. She'd no doubt would know he was there soon, so there was no point in trying to hide. He walked over, stopping until he was in front of her an equal distance from the brass bowl.

Normally, showing gratitude wasn't his strongest suit. But he still felt the need to do so. Again, these feelings were not normal for him. But, he was still honor bound to offer some sort of thanks. "I suppose I should thank you for healing me," he said in a normal tone, and volume, as he scratched the back of his head. He couldn't help but feel awkward for intruding on her.

"Uh," Raven spoke up, as if confused or annoyed by his statement of 'thanks', "you're welcome?" Her eyes opened and she looked directly at him. Her gaze felt weird, like she was simultaneously looking at him, past him and around him. It made him uneasy.

"It was strange having you in my head," he said as he sat down. "I felt you prying into my entire life. It was _not_ appreciated."  
"I'm an empath," she clarified quickly. It wasn't intentional. Just something that came with the territory. "And if it makes you feel any better, I didn't see it as much as felt it. I've been trying to shake it off ever since."

' _You and me both.'_ "Then you know I'm not meant to be here, at this stupid school," Damian responded.

' _How is anyone supposed to know where they belong?'_ She asked herself. _'He's spent his whole life being told he's meant to be at the top, leading or otherwise in a superior position. And now, he feels lost at sea.'_

"I was groomed for a higher calling…"

' _I already knew that…'_ She realized that her spell did more than just heal him. It had forged a psychic bond. So far it was weak, and as long as she kept her distance, it would only be temporary.

"…My grandfather's…"

"I know all about your grandfather," Raven cut him off, not wanting to be reminded and risk the connection becoming permanent. "I felt him. He was a demon," maybe bluntness would make him leave, but she doubted it. "And believe me, I know my demons."

' _For some strange reason, I do,'_ Damian said to himself. _'But why?'_ He ignored it, too incensed by her calling his grandfather a 'demon'. "He was a great man," he retorted. He wasn't sure why he kept saying that, he wasn't sure he believed it anymore. It was just a reflex response. "We were going to make the world stronger, better." Now he felt himself _forcing_ himself to say those things. Like he was trying to convince _himself_ , not her. "We were going to rule it together," now he was sounding dejected, not even caring that it would never happen now.

"I know all about that game, too," the witch girl responded. Rule the world? Countless people, little more than devils in human form, have tried that. And they all failed, usually dying as their would-be empires crashed and burned around them. Ra's al-Ghul would've been no different. _Was_ no different. "Now," she really needed to get distance from him before something happened that neither would want. It was as much to protect _him_ as it was herself. "I don't mean to be rude, but would you mind getting the hell away from me?" She closed her eyes to resume her meditations, desperate to prevent a bond he certainly wouldn't want from forming.

' _That was blunt,'_ Damian thought as he stood up. _'Even for me.'_ "You know," so much for an 'easy plan', "when you were in my head, I could see things about you, too." He was bluffing, mostly. He only saw _one_ thing. And he needed to understand it. He hated not knowing things.

"Like what?" Raven said in a snappy tone that almost took him back. Somehow, that retort from her unnerved him more than the ethereal glow about her, the creepy incense, or the fact that she was _floating four inches above the ground_.

"It looked like a man but," he hesitated, feeling a sense of dread over talking about _it_ , as though speaking of _it_ would make it real, "something more. Who…" again he hesitated nervously, almost _forcing_ himself to put words to it, "what was that thing?"

"It was nothing," Raven responded. "A nightmare." _'I should've expected him to see something. Bonds are two-way roads. I need to end this now…'_

"It was real!" Damian persisted. On the one hand, Raven found it an admirable trait. But, in this situation, it was annoying. "I could tell." Finally, she'd had enough and decided to leave, knowing he wouldn't.

"It's none of your business," she said, standing up, barely controlling her emotions. "Who are you to judge my life? You have other things to fix here," she then opened a portal and stepped through, coming out in her room.

Having finally put distance between herself and the 'boy', Raven took a deep breath. His inquiries had been more taxing than she expected. And he didn't give up easily. But then again, neither did she. She closed her eyes and focused. It was still there. Still weak, but it was there. Despite her best efforts it was beginning to look like this unwanted bond wasn't going away any time soon. "Damnit."

XXXXX

As he returned to the Tower, Damian couldn't help but feel unnerved. So far, his first day with the Titans was not what anyone would call 'inspiring'. He'd all but insulted nearly every single member, started a fight, and probably pissed off the most open-minded person on the team. His father would be disappointed.

And, he didn't like it when others proved him wrong or made him feel embarrassed. But, Raven was right, he had to set a few things right. His confrontation with the Blue Beetle had been a mistake. For one thing, he assumed too much about him. He also failed to expect the unexpected. He had failed to follow his training and instead acted, or rather reacted, emotionally. And it nearly got him killed.

Still, he was expected to work with this 'team' and it would not do to have lingering animosity between any of the members. Therefore, he would need to remedy that. And that meant seeking out his 'rival' from that morning.

He found Jaime in one of the lounges. Sitting on a couch with a laptop in front of him. Again, he wasn't used to issuing things like gratitude or apologies. But, here he was. And after Raven's retort outside, he felt compelled to follow through. "Jaime?" He spoke up, arms behind his back in a relaxed, reserved position of respect. The same one instilled by his grandfather and, later, Alfred Pennyworth. He spotted an iguana half-hiding under the table among some building blocks, Garfield.

"Yeah?" The teen responded with a grumpy tone. Like a teenaged, Hispanic, Ebenezer Scrooge.

"Perhaps it was a mistake to challenge you this morning," he began his 'reserved' acquiescence of regret, "without knowing the _full_ capacity of your…" he chose his next words carefully, remembering the response he got the last time, "alien attachment. I promise you, it won't happen again." And with that he turned and left, hoping that last line wouldn't be taken as a threat.

"Did he…" Jaime was a little surprised by what just happened "just say he's 'sorry'?" _'Wasn't expecting the loco mocoso to actually_ apologize _!'_

"Aww," Garfield said after shifting back to human form. "See? He likes you." Somehow, Jaime didn't want to go _that_ far.

After hopefully 'fixing' things with the Blue Beetle, Damian found himself curious about the instigator of his apology. He didn't think Raven would be willing to speak to him so soon after their mini-argument in the grove and he didn't want any of the others to think he was being intrusive or 'romantically inclined' towards her. Instead, he accessed the main computer. But, it wasn't what he found that piqued his interest, it was what he _didn't_ find.

Beyond basic personal information, birth date, height, weight, and a record of her affiliation with the Titans, there was little else on her. No records on her family, immediate or extended, no social security number or place of birth. It had her blood type, A-Negative, fingerprints and a genetic sample that listed her as five percent Italian, ten percent Gaelic, thirty-five percent Germanic-Scandinavian, and fifty percent 'unknown', which Damian found most interesting.

After failing to get anything from the computer, Damian broadened his search. First, he checked the internet, called open-source research, but only found references to her missions with the Titans. Next he used his computer to 'covertly access' various government agencies. Again, he came up mostly dry aside from some research projects on the theories regarding the source and nature of her powers.

Not even their 'esteemed leader' had any extra information on Raven. It was as though 'Rachel Roth' suddenly materialized out of thin air, partially true according to her first encounter with the Titans just over two years ago. Nightwing had found her and brought her to the team while they were in the middle of a mission. Aside from a vague description of her home being an unidentified 'hostile realm' there was virtually nothing on her.

To Damian, it was unthinkable not to vet someone before trusting them. He somehow knew he could trust her, though, but he didn't like going on 'faith'. He'd gone on such belief without data before and it nearly got him killed on one occasion. On another it resulted in an almost world-shattering tragedy.

He preferred hard data. Failing that, personal experience. On that note, his experience led him to trust her after she voluntarily healed him. He wouldn't go so far as to call her a friend or even an 'ally' just yet. But, he was willing to keep an open mind.

As he passed Raven's room on the way to his, he could _feel_ her presence. It was really starting to concern him that he could just _know_ she was close by. It was an unnatural paranoia that he was unsure of how to handle. Normally, he'd channel it to counter a possible threat. But, in this instance he felt no threat, either to himself or others. It was more of a 'fish out of water' feeling.

The next day, Damian spent doing research. He studied previous Titan missions. First, he focused on the ones Grayson had participated in. He almost found the one where they first met Starfire amusing. He was surprised Flash never said anything about being a former member of the Titans. He didn't know who Speedy or Bee were; they had either retired or maintained a solo career profile post-Titans. But he saw that Beast Boy had hardly changed since he helped form the team.

XXXXX

For her part, Raven tried to keep her distance from Damian. Not out of fear or distaste of him. She was simply worried she'd be a danger to him. Psychic bonds could be just as dangerous as they were beneficial and therefore _not_ entered lightly. But, she found herself reluctantly curious about the new Robin.

He was certainly different from other members of the Titans who have come and gone. Nor did he lack for skills or courage. Rumor had it that he was just as intelligent as Batman as well as an eye for detecting threats. Not surprising considering the training he received in his Grandfather's league. It certainly explained why his combat style was much more aggressive than those practiced by other members of the Titans or the Justice League.

There was more on her mind though than her new teammate. Last night, she had another dream. Thankfully, the eyes didn't return, but it was just as vivid as the one she had the night prior. Her dreams were beginning to really bother her. As if their increasingly vivid nature was an early alert or sixth sense of impending danger.

In this one, she found herself in a dark, limestone hallway lined with torches. It looked ancient, and it felt like she was underground. Sensing a presence behind her she turned around to find the Red Knight standing a few yards behind her. But, strangely, she didn't detect any threat from him. "Who are you?" She asked of the shrouded figure. He made no reply. He simply lowered himself to his right knee, holding his sword out in both hands.

The sword looked like it was hewn from a solid piece of obsidian. Razor sharp and shining with an ethereal brilliance, its leather handle faded from a long history of use. Raven quickly deduced the meaning of the gesture. He _was_ like a knight swearing fealty to her, making a solemn, silent vow to protect her.

Suddenly, as if to prove her assumption, the Red Knight rose to his feet and shot past her, intercepting the blade of the Black Swordsman who materialized out of thin air behind her. Only this time, the Black Swordsman towered over the Red Knight, like an adult towering over a child. Their obsidian blades made a sound like metallic thunder as the Red Knight pushed her away, signaling her to run to safety. And with that she woke up.

Raven still had no idea of the meaning of the two swordsmen. She didn't know if they represented a coming battle against a certain 'evil' that has haunted her whole life. Or if they represented an inner struggle she was having with herself. They could've meant something different all together. One thing she was certain of was that the dreams were _not_ random. They had meaning.

But, for the life of her, she had no idea what that meaning was at this time.


	5. Mando-Fun Bonding

CH. 4: MANDO-FUN BONDING

' _I can't imagine this ending well,'_ Raven said to herself after Kori explained why they were at the carnival that night. 'Mandatory fun' she had called it. She had been slightly surprised when their leader summoned them shortly after dinner in their 'street clothes'. Even more surprised when she herded them into her car. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Damian who had to sit wedged between Jaime and Garfield in the back. Heck, she could literally _feel_ his agitation at being literally stuck between the two.

Before they got in the car, Kori had asked Raven for some help getting Damian to open up. That revealed to her the real reason behind their field trip. Damian had no real experience with being a kid or being around other kids. It was a two-pronged approach: help the team bond and help Damian become more 'personable'. Raven felt like their work would be cut out for them on the 'Damian Front'.

Jaime, like everyone else, was dismayed that Damian chose to bring his sword. "Preparation is a pre-requisite for victory," he had explained. Having the title Robin meant always being prepared. Batman would not have expected less. He was ordered to leave it behind in the car and he did so reluctantly. He followed Raven towards the carnival ticket booth where Kori bought tickets for them.

"Think of this as a 'team building' outing," Kori explained to them as Damian got his ticket punched. He walked over, looking the very picture of 'I don't want to be here'. If he had a totem animal it would be 'Angry Cat'. "This is an opportunity to become more familiar with each other," she said before leading them further into the fair.

"How much more familiar can we get?" Jaime asked as they began to follow. "We've already seen Garfield lick himself." That caused Damian to do a double take.

"As a dog?" He asked no one in particular. Raven responded without meaning to.

"I wish…" Damian immediately got the sense that he did _not_ want to know. But, for some reason he had the image of a green giraffe 'cleaning' itself like it were a cat. It made him shiver.

As they walked through the fair, neither Damian nor Raven noticed that they seemed to instinctively fall into lock step together. If Kori was looking to set the two up as a 'power couple', which she wasn't, she was on the right track. The group made for the main feature of the park, the Ferris wheel. Kori waited at the back of the group as Jaime and Garfield, practically best friends, got on board first then, hesitantly, Raven and Damian got onto a car. That's when she noticed the odd body language between the two of them. "Hmm," she pondered if her idea of 'mandatory fun night' might have an unintended consequence.

As they rode the wheel Raven could feel the bond solidifying, undoing the effort she had put in the past twenty-four hours. She tried to think of a way to put distance between the two of them, but, there was little chance of that with Kori chaperoning them. She looked for her surrogate big sister on the ground below, but, instead came to lock eyes for a brief second with Damian. For the first time, she noted how deep his green eyes were. Almost like that of New Zealand Greenstone. Realizing she almost staring, she quickly averted her gaze, as did he, both fighting blushes.

For his part, Damian was trying to come to grips with the idea of being in such close proximity to a girl. He would never admit it, but he thought Raven had good looks. He didn't put much thought into it, though. He was just trying to 'ride out' the night, like one would in a hostage situation. Despite his best efforts, he still seemed to find himself in Raven's general vicinity, even as Garfield and Jaime challenged each other to various games.

Things started to turn when Jaime took up the challenge of one of those strength games where you slammed a large rubber mallet onto a pedestal. Of course, the Scarab decided to give him a 'competitive advantage' and boosted his strength. The result was a destroyed attraction.

Damian couldn't help but shoot Raven a bemused look as if saying "Seriously?" Raven shrugged a response. But then, without warning she covered her mouth to contain a burst of laughter. "What?" He asked to which she simply pointed past him. He turned to see his reflection in a mirror. But not just any mirror. It was a 'fun mirror'. He recoiled when he noticed how 'fat' his ass looked in the warped metal, and then his thighs grew to outrageous proportions. Raven continued to laugh as she walked up to his side.

That's when Damian noticed a bit of revenge coming his way and pointed out the 'karma mirror'. Raven's laughter stopped when she saw the size of her head in the mirror. He couldn't help but maintain the shit-eating grin as she glared at him, even after she playfully swatted his arm down.

Following that, the pair began to partake in more of the activities at the carnival. Following the 'strong man fiasco' Kori forbid the teens from using any of their powers to 'cheat' at the games. This would've leveled the playing field and give Damian a fighting chance. Actually, it gave him an unfair advantage since he didn't rely on powers like the others, hence his 'natural' abilities which couldn't be hampered.

"Here," Kori said as they came to a ring toss game. "This should be a fair fight," she went first, followed by Garfield and then Jaime. Raven then stepped up and scored three rings in a row. Despite a feeling of 'why bother' Damian could also feel a sense of enjoyment coming from somewhere else. He didn't know where it was coming from, just that it didn't feel like his own. He looked down at the rings and decided, 'why not'.

He picked up three in each hand, gauged the distance to the bottles, wound up and let them fly. He scored six out of six, shocking the others into silence! "Okay," Garfield grumbled. "We probably should've expected that…" After years of practice with bat-tarangs, shuriken and other hand thrown projectiles, challenging Robin to a contest of accuracy was like trying to play tug of war with a battleship, or even the Space Shuttle at lift-off! You would lose.

But, it was what happened next that made the biggest impression on Raven regarding her new teammate.

With his token tickets in hand, Raven watched Damian march over to the gift stand and look at the assorted prizes. She spotted a particular 'fantasy sword' a half second before he pointed to it. _'I should've figured he'd go for a sword,'_ she realized. She then felt his 'buyer's remorse' when the proprietor activated its glow function and handed it to him. A child's toy was not his thing, no matter how much of a sword aficionado he was.

That's when Raven saw him spot a little girl out of the corner of his eye. Her eyes were wide as she ogled his prize. But, she didn't have enough tickets for one of her own. Raven was somewhat surprised when he simply handed it off to the girl. She looked at him hesitantly, he gave her a soft smile and nodded, holding the hilt out for her. She enthusiastically grabbed it and ran over to show her parents.

It was a simple, random act of kindness, that, before tonight, Raven would not have expected from Damian. Knowing she was probably tempting fate, Raven decided to 'feel' a bit deeper into Damian using the accidental psychic bridge that she had formed. What she saw going through his subconscious surprised her. But, it also warmed her heart to know he wasn't really a cold, jerk. Thus, she felt a small smile form as she admired his simple act of kindness.

XXXXX

A few minutes later, the group made for the food tents. Kori browsed the barbeque stand while Damian simply got himself an orange soda and sat down at one of the tables. He was still thinking about why he was sent to the Titans and wondering how much longer he had to stay. Despite the warmer air between him and his teammates he had yet to actually break the ice.

Raven could sense his apprehension even without the bridge. She realized that the biggest, and most profound handicap he had was his lack of friends. Knowing that there would probably be no turning back, she decided to try and help him with that. It was too much effort for her to keep her distance, just to prevent the bond from cementing between them. It was also not in her nature to not want to help someone.

"Here," she said holding out her bundle of cotton candy as she came to his table. "Have some." He grabbed a pinch and chewed it.

"That tastes like pure sugar," he commented in surprise as she sat down.

"Boy, were you up those mountains a long time," she chuckled before she could think better of the joke. He felt his annoyance before he even turned away. She then realized that she shouldn't have made fun about that. "It was a joke. I'm not criticizing," she tried to apologize. She was genuinely afraid she'd hurt his feelings.

"I knew it was a joke," he responded evenly. He then shot her a sad, annoyed look. "And if you knew me you wouldn't waste your time trying." Raven got the message.

It wasn't that he didn't want friends. He didn't think he deserved them since he knew he was an insufferable jerk who was raised too differently from the others. Who would want to be friends with someone who, until a few years ago, was being raised, trained and groomed to essentially conquer and or enslave the world? That only compounded his sense of isolation and alienation from those around him.

Maybe it was a sense of entitlement and superiority that was drilled into him since birth. Maybe it was due to the shock of his mother's betrayal leaving him with trust issues. Maybe it was a result of him hitting puberty and not knowing how to handle his emotions and hormones; a common problem with teens no matter how they were raised. More likely it was a multi-faceted issue. Either way, he was just frustrated with his current lot in life.

"I guess neither of our lives are very funny," she conceded that point. Then, she felt brave. "But, I'll tell you something about yourself that not even you know…" That perked up Damian's ears. "You may be insufferable, but in your heart," she turned to give him a soft smile, "you are a kind a generous soul."

The former al-Ghul considered denying this. But, he noticed the sincerity in her eyes. Her words shocked him. No one had ever such a thing about him. He was told he was a child, a brat, 'little man' or even bastard. The closest thing he'd gotten for praise was for his skills as a warrior. But, looking back, he was told he had a 'killer instinct' and the 'bravado of the elite'. Things he now considered black marks on him.

Since then, he's viewed himself as an arrogant bastard. He even doubled down on the labeling, figuring 'if I'm an arrogant bastard I might as well act the part'. He didn't really know what else to do since his previous 'title' of 'Heir to the Demon's Head' was now but a half-remembered fantasy from yesteryear. It was no longer to be. He was the bastard heir to an empire that no longer existed except in the minds of a scattered few. Such was his lot.

But now? Here, a girl he'd met only the day before was telling him he was not some 'bastard'. 'Insufferable', yes. But, that he was kind and generous. Was she right? Somehow, Damian could feel the truth to her words of encouragement. Could he really be a 'good guy at heart'? This whole time he'd thought of himself as a 'former bad guy' who got stuck with trying to play 'hero'. And here was a total stranger telling him he had the potential to _be_ a hero.

He'd never heard such kind words before.

His musings would have to wait as music and cheering drew their attention to a nearby stage. On it they saw Garfield and Jaime facing off on a raised DDR game. "Oh, this ought to be good," Raven chuckled as she stood up to approach Kori who was watching. "Come on." Damian relented, not having anything else to do.

When they joined Kori's side, they could easily tell Jaime was getting owned by their green friend. Garfield was even starting to show off by break dancing on the platform. "Booyah!" Garfield cheered along with the crowd when the song ended and declared him the winner. Jaime slumped against the rails dejected and somewhat embarrassed. "Please! Please!" Garfield called out as Jaime marched down.

' _Has he no shame?'_ Damian leered at him. One might say he's one to talk, but at least he didn't publicly celebrate things like that. Occasional gloating, yes. But, this was embarrassing.

"Free popcorn to anyone who can slay the beast," Jaime said as he rejoined the other Titans.

' _I'm probably going to regret this…'_ Damian said to himself. But he also said 'fuck it'. "I could do it." The other three simultaneous face faulted and looked at him like he was losing his grasp of reality.

"You know how to dance?" Raven asked for clarification. _'I don't see it.'_ But, she could sense his confidence.

"I'm a quick study," he replied as marched forward to challenge the beast.

"This will be one for the ages, si, mi amigas?" Jaime asked the girls.

The trio watched as Damian took his position on the platform. _"Ready? Set?"_ The game's AI announcer spoke up. _"DANCE!"_ It was too much to expect Damian to begin killing it right off the bat. He struggled to keep pace and match the patterns. Garfield, thinking Damian had bitten off more than he could chew began to taunt and laugh at him.

In the crowd, Raven began to feel a little sorry for Damian and wished him to do better. And, remarkably, he did. He started to feel the rhythm of the music, recognize the patterns of the symbols and quickly began to gain points and catch up to the Beast Boy. Soon, the speed began to increase and Damian along with it. Garfield began to slow down and lose steam.

Neither Jaime nor Raven could believe what they were seeing. Garfield, in addition to his powers of transformation, was known for incredible stamina. He worked on his cardio more than anyone at the tower and yet Damian seemed to be running him ragged.

"Mira!" A clearly impressed Jaime exclaimed before looking past a flabbergasted Kori at Raven. "Look at them go!" Indeed, Raven couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for the new team member. The smile that followed was almost a reflex.

" _Raven,"_ a quiet voice echoed in her head, causing her to look to the back of the crowd. There, she saw a young woman with solid black eyes. _"They're waiting for you,"_ the woman said, but not in her voice. He lips moved but it was not her natural sounds. It was like someone recorded her voice and then played it over her regular voice. It sounded just a little off.

' _What's going on?'_ Raven asked herself as the woman walked away. She was confused and didn't want to leave her friends. They could be in danger. But, this merited investigation, so, reluctantly, she began to follow.


	6. Raven's Demons

CH. 5: RAVEN'S DEMONS

Damian was shocked that Garfield was so winded. He had heard that Beast Boy had superb stamina and yet he appeared drained by the dance off while he, Damian Wayne, wasn't even sweating. _'I guess some things were exaggerated,'_ he said to himself as Kori praised them both for their performance. Even Jaime was impressed.

"Yeah, okay," Garfield sputtered as he struggled to regain his breath. "Whatever," he seemed to accept his defeat with great humility. But, the revelry was short lived. Screaming and a pair of explosions echoed across the fairgrounds drawing their attention.

Looking in the direction of the commotion, in between the panicking crowd, the Titans saw Raven fall to the ground, a trio of red skinned hostiles following close behind. "Raven!" Kori saw the enemies were targeting her. "Titans, go!" She shouted as Damian bolted for the parking lot. While the others could ready for battle on the spot almost instantly, he had to retrieve his gear, especially his signature weapons.

"The sword stays in the car, Damian," he muttered as he vaulted over a Subaru. "Tonight is for mandatory fun, Damian," he slid around an SUV. He had no idea why he was feeling so sarcastic, but he couldn't help himself. _'If this is how things normally go with this team…'_ He said as he reached the car. He tried the door handle but it wouldn't budge. _'Of course, she locked it.'_ "Damnit," he cursed.

He didn't really want to damage her car, but this was not the time to go back and ask for her keys. So, he broke the window and retrieved his sword. He then found a secluded spot near some porta-potties to change his clothing. It was time for Robin to fight his first battle alongside the Titans.

When he got back to the Titans they had been forced to take cover under a protective dome summoned by Raven in front of a sushi stand. He quickly saw she was struggling to maintain the barrier. If he didn't act, the Titans would be sitting ducks.

Raven could feel her energy draining. The barrier would only last for a few more seconds under the sustained assault. That's when she heard the sound of shuriken whistled through the air. She watched as one such weapon curved around the barrier and detonated against one of the demons attacking them. Simultaneously, a trio of micro-grenades rolled up to and pulverized a second demon. Finally, she saw a familiar form land behind the third demon directly in front of them. An angular sword blade soon protruded from the demon's face causing it to falter, then, the figure behind it stabbed a shuriken into its side causing it to explode and then dispel into flames.

As he strode forward from the smoke, Raven almost mistook the victor as the 'Red Knight' from her dreams. "Please tell me they're undead," Damian requested calmly as he seemed unperturbed by the idea of fighting either demons or undead. Raven dropped the barrier, hoping to retain some of her energy.

"Yes," she nodded. "But you can't stop them like that. They're like batteries."

' _Meaning they have a finite amount of energy until they're gone for good,'_ Robin realized. Just then, the terrible trio began to resurface just down the avenue.

"Then let's run them down," Starfire stated as the Titans prepared for Round Two.

Starfire kept Raven close as they took one demon. Garfield tackled a second, constantly shape shifting to keep his enemy off balanced. That left demon number three to Beetle and Robin. Without a word, the two of them moved forward on a simple strategy: Blue Beetle would engage and wear down the demon from a distance as Robin closed in to hack away with his sword.

Despite their initial animosity towards each other, the pair made an effective team. Beetle blasted away with both arm cannons as Robin rolled underneath the energy blasts. The demon became unbalanced, enabling Robin to get in behind and stab it in the back. The demon spun around in pain, Robin simply jumped past it and sliced off its head in midair.

The demon stumbled but remained upright. It then regrew its head and its whole body flickered like a hologram. He and Beetle shared a look. Both realized that must've meant the demon was running low on energy. The demon fired bolts from its eyes at Beetle who blocked it with a shield before firing a retaliatory blast that knocked it to the ground. From a perch above the fight, Robin tossed a micro-grenade onto the demon.

Over in their area of the fight, Raven and Starfire were in trouble. Because she was low on energy, Raven could do little but try and run defense for her big sister. This forced Starfire to not only protect Raven but also try and battle their opponent. Not an easy task, thus the predicament they found themselves in with Kori rendered stunned by the last attack and Raven too depleted of energy to fight back.

Back with Robin and Beetle, the demon tried to avoid Beetle's superior firepower, especially since it was running dangerously low on energy. It tried to get in close to the Boy Wonder, hoping Beetle would be too afraid to hit his comrade. This was a bad tactic as it soon found out. Robin ducked under its attack and sliced away at its midsection. The demon stumbled and regained its footing only to receive a back-spin kick to the head. This forced it right into Beetle's sight line and at point blank range, the Hispanic superhero blasted the beast in the head, sending it flying down the path.

The demon shakily got to its feet, its form flickering as it did so. Seeing their enemy was running on fumes, the duo readied a final coup de grace. A double whammy energy blast and explosive shuriken. Robin's shuriken imbedded itself in the demon's head and Beetle's plasma blast detonated the explosive and dealt its own damage, permanently banishing the demon.

In the adjacent alley, Beast Boy had defeated his enemy with relative ease, having crushed it under the weight of an African elephant form. But, their attention was drawn to the area in front of the Ferris wheel. A glowing, violet and black 'shadow bird' engulfed the third demon and expelled it into the sky. The Titans gathered around as Starfire regained consciousness and Raven began to float back down. Not that Beast Boy noticed. "Whoo!" He cheered as he raced around the corner to dance around both Beetle and Robin. "Yeah! We kicked demon bootay!" To his credit, Beetle simply ignored him even as BB playfully slugged his shoulder. "Yeah, baby!" But it was Robin who took the wind out of his sails. "Up top!" He held his hands up, fully expected him to give him five. Robin gave no reaction. "Hit me?" He brought his hands down, thinking they were maybe too high. No joy.

"Erm," Robin just gave a grunt and his best impression of the 'Bat Glare'.

Thankfully, Raven landed, preventing any further embarrassment. Robin could feel how dejected and ashamed she was as her aura dissipated. "Robin said I didn't know enough about you," Starfire said quietly as Raven seemed to shrink into her cloak. "I think he was right. You told me you didn't have a father."

"What I said was that he's gone," Raven tried to clarify. Strangely, Robin could just sense her apprehension about the topic. He knew she wasn't trying to dodge the subject, only fighting to keep her cool regarding the topic.

"That's not the same as dead," he challenged her on it.

"He's dead to me!" Raven snapped as she turned her back to the group.

"So," Beast Boy spoke up hesitantly. "Why's he trying to kill you?"

"He's not trying to kill me," Raven explained softly, her voice dripping with remorse. "It's much worse."

She took a deep breath and summoned what she could of her energy, wrapping the group in a dark shroud. When it dropped they found themselves in the ruins of an ancient city under an alien sky. Robin spotted a moon cracked in half, its fragments forming into a foreboding asteroid belt. "Safe to say 'We're not in Kansas anymore'," Beast Boy stated the obvious.

' _Can he hold back the running commentary for five minutes?'_ Robin grumbled to himself.

"It's no star field I recognize," Starfire provided more pertinent information. That signaled they were in unknown territory. Raven must've brought them here for a reason. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere my father can't see us," the young girl explained.

"Alright," Robin spoke up. "Let's hear it." He could sense Raven was hesitant. But, he also knew she brought them here specifically to tell them the truth. He misjudged her hesitancy for fear that they might judge her. More specifically, she was afraid _he_ would judge her negatively.

"There's so much," she said looking at him, sadly. "I guess it starts with my mom…"

XXXXX

To say her story was mildly shocking would be like saying shaving with a circular saw was 'slightly dangerous'. Her mother, a former cultist, was wed to the 'devil' and thus she, Rachel Roth, was half-demon. And while Damian was trying to calculate the need for such an offspring, as well as the potential Raven had within her, Garfield noted a less important detail.

"So, your mom _did it_ with _Satan_?" He asked incredulously.

' _Seriously?'_ Robin glared at his back. _'That's your takeaway?'_

"His name is Trigon," Raven clarified. "But basically yes."

"But they _totally_ did it." The only thing that saved Beast Boy from Damian's annoyed backhand was Starfire's scolding.

"Garfield!" She snapped at him. "That was inappropriate."

' _That's one word for it,'_ Damian thought as Raven continued her story.

"It gets weirder," Raven said, looking down. Damian could sense that the part she plays was coming up. Something very painful for her. "Mom fled the cult, and was on the run with nowhere to go. Then she gets saved by some people from another dimension…"

As she went on, Damian could swear he could literally _see_ everything that happened as she relayed it to them. He saw the monstrous demon Trigon as Raven inadvertently summoned him. He felt her misguided attempt to understand and love her father. He also felt her devastating heart break at his betrayal and her mother's death. He knew the feeling well from his own experiences. He also heard the last words of Raven's mother: "Be brave…"

It was during this moment that Damian began to see his 'demons' are mere itches compared to what Raven went through. He also began to see wrenching parallels between himself and the pale skinned girl. He was the grandson of 'the demon' and she was the daughter of a literal demon.

"…Poor mother," Raven said looking out at the stars. "Poor Azarath…I became its Trojan Horse." Her father used her as a weapon. Damian had referred to himself as a weapon, now deeply regretting his choice of words. "He took me to his hellish universe," she went on. "I could hardly bear the horrors I saw there…" Now her story was certainly making his upbringing following the death of Ra's al-Ghul look like paradise.

But, that left a big question…One that Kori asked next. "Why did Trigon want you?"

"He wanted Earth," she explained, turning back to them. "He's a conqueror of worlds. But he needs a powerful conduit to open Earth to his control."

"And you're half human," Damian deduced. It made sense, only someone of that world and his own could open it for him. "His way in."

"But my magik was stronger than he realized," Raven continued her story, unable to look Damian in the eye for fear of his gaze. "Before he could use me I was able trap him inside a crystal. It should have held him. Perhaps if I had stayed there, it would've." She turned to look away once more. "But I wanted a home."

' _And she found the Titans,'_ Damian realized.

"Why didn't you go back to Azerath?" Jaime asked next not figuring out where they were.

"This is Azerath," Raven replied. Unsaid, was the warning that _this_ was the fate Earth would face if Trigon ever got through.


	7. Battle of the Tower

CH. 6: BATTLE OF THE TOWER

Raven brought them back to the Tower. It was the morning following the battle at the carnival. Damian immediately scanned for threats. If Trigon found her at the fair, he'd almost certainly would expect her here. From now on, the Titans should expect a supernatural siege from Trigon. And Damian already had his mind on a war footing. It's what he'd been trained for. He had always saw himself as a warrior first and foremost.

But, it was Raven's next words that would begin his return to his humanity. "Don't worry, I'm not staying," she states matter-of-factly. "I've got to keep moving to keep Trigon off my path."

"Where will you go?" Kori asked the younger girl. Her concern for her still strong.

"It's better you not know," Raven replied with equal concern. "He's going to try to use you." She turned back to the younger Titans. Damian could sense her reluctance to leave them. She didn't want to, but she didn't see any other way to protect them. "But don't worry. I put a protective spell on you, just in case." Damian recalled the night he spoke to her. That's what she was doing, casting a spell to protect them from Trigon's influence.

"And I thought I had a bad burrito," Garfield was never short for a dumb comment.

"Dude," thankfully, Jaime was there to keep him under control.

"Guess I should've gotten permission, or whatever," Raven apologized. More and more, Damian could sense her emotions rising as the moment of her departure neared. He couldn't understand how he felt them, or why. He just did. He also knew he didn't like it. "But I couldn't stand for him to corrupt you," she said looking to Damian. "You're the only friends I've ever really had…" It wasn't right. Why should she suffer because of her father? "I'll…" She paused, fighting back tears. "…miss you," she said looking up to Kori before turning to leave.

Damian quickly saw that neither Kori, nor Jaime, nor Garfield moved to stop her. Inside, Damian was seething with rage. They were her friends and they were just going to let her make a mistake? He wasn't going to stand for it. He would not let her make the mistake. He owed her no less.

Ever since he came to the Tower, Damian had felt lost, almost unwanted. He didn't view himself as a Titan and even picked a fight with one. He insulted their leader, insulted their purpose, insulted them personally. And yet, Raven held fast to her desire to help him. She healed him when he was wounded. She included him in her protective spell.

She showed him kindness, offered friendship and encouragement. All this without asking anything in return. And all this despite his all-around asshole nature. Never had he met someone so selfless, nor someone who saw him as someone who had a place in this world. On this team.

Most of all, her words echoed in his head: "You may be insufferable. But, in your heart, you're a kind and generous soul."

He was _not_ about to let all that be for nothing. He was _not_ going to prove her wrong. He couldn't. His father told they must do the "right thing to do because it is right". Words to live by. Words to 'find your center'.

As she moved to open a portal to a random world, Raven expected someone to try and stop her. But, despite her psychic bond to him, Damian was the last she expected to speak up. His voice stopped her in her tracks. "Wait," his voice sounded like a shout in the morose silence. She lowered her hand and turned to see the last person she expected to be her hero. "Leave now and you'll always be running." His words were simple but poignant.

"You have no idea what he's like, Damian," she tried to warn him off this course of action. "You've never met a monster like Trigon." She was right and Damian knew it. But he didn't care. And neither did the rest of her friends.

"You beat him once," Jaime spoke up alongside Damian, taking a cue from his former-rival's example.

"I was lucky," she retorted as she turned back, almost surprised to see Damian in so close proximity. And yet, she felt encouraged and strengthened by his presence. And, equally surprising, it was _not_ because of the psychic bridge between them that only she knew about. It was his new, proto-heroic demeanor. The almost direct result of her words to him at the fair.

"Now you'll be four times as lucky," he explained to her, reminding her that she was not in this fight alone. "If we can't save one of our own, who can we save?"

This surprised everyone. Especially, Jaime. "I thought you hated us?" He spoke up, barely avoiding fainting. Raven senses something mischievous stir inside the insipient leader in front of her.

"I'm not wishing you dead anymore," his voice dripped with sarcasm as did his smirk. Raven had to fight back a chuckle. Hearing him defiantly speak up for her, encourage her to stay and fight, she began to believe she had a chance.

"Robin's right," Kori said, once more feeling hope for her little sister. "We're your best hope."

Yes. With her friends at her side, they stood a chance.

Without warning, a flash of light erupted between the Titans and the Tower. They looked fifteen yards past Raven to see a Boom-Tube open, depositing Cyborg, Wonder Woman and Batman onto the concrete. Flash arrived just as the tube closed. Damian did not like the timing of their arrival, nor the position they took between them and their stronghold.

"Down boy," Jaime said to his Scarab as it readied a shoulder cannon. Apparently, the alien cyber-bug wasn't fond of the situation either. Damian immediately moved to Raven's side, knowing there was only one reason why the Justice League was here.

"We heard about the attack," Batman got right to it. He knew his son had already deduced they were not there for a social call. "Was she at the center?"

"Her father's an interdimensional demon," Starfire explained, trying to divert any blame from her charge. "He was after her."

"She's coming with us," the Dark Knight stepped forward.

' _Bullshit, she is,'_ Damian said to himself. "No," as he stepped protectively in front of his comrade, sheathed sword in hand. "We can handle this." Raven started sensing conflicting emotions emanating from Robin regarding Batman. She had difficulty making sense of them.

"If she's part of this, we need to know," Batman responded.

"We can protect her," Robin was adamant and firm in his resolve. The two squared off, giving each other their own glares. Seeing him stand up to Batman, Raven couldn't help but think of her dreams about the two swordsmen. Here was a dark, towering figure, Batman, and a red clad protector, almost coming to blows over her.

' _Is this what my dreams were trying to warn me about?'_ She asked herself as Cyborg nervously shifted among the League members.

"I'm sorry, Raven," Wonder Woman spoke next. "We've had two magic attacks and Superman is still missing." Before any of the Titans could retort, Raven let out a gasp as she grasped at her head.

"No," she recoiled back into Starfire. Damian felt a pulse of terror wash over her. Something was coming, he didn't know how, but he knew Trigon was about to make his next move.

"What's the matter?" The Titan leader asked her.

"He knows they're here!" She cried out in panic. She could hear a group of Trigon's 'corruptors' approaching fast. They had seemingly been waiting and when the Justice League arrived, they moved. "He wants them here!"

"Who?" Batman asked next, unsure of what was going on.

"If they stay everything will be lost!" She tried to warn Starfire.

"This is our job, father!" Damian shouted at Batman, trying to convince him to leave this to them. "You have to leave!"

" _FATHER!?_ " Blue Beetle and Beast Boy did a simultaneous double take when they head him say that. Apparently, that was one bit of information about Robin that was _not_ passed down to them.

"She's coming with us," Batman ordered once more.

"She stays here," his son remained defiant. Sensing that things were about to come to a head, Beetle stepped forward and readied a cannon while Garfield shifted into a lion and both joined Damian at the front of the group. Wonder Woman, Flash and Cyborg reciprocated the move.

"Maybe," Starfire held her hand up as she moved closer to Raven, trying to keep the two allied teams from coming to blows, "we should all take a breath."

"Too late," Raven quivered. She knew she'd be almost useless in this fight, she was still drained from the battle at the fair and transporting the Titans had taken too much out of her. "They're here…"

Damian barely spotted several shadows 'move' from the sidelines and snake towards the League members. Cyborg and Wonder Woman were attacked first. "Great Hera!" The Amazonian warrior cried out as shadows latched onto Flash and Batman like demonic spider webbing.

"We're being compromised," Batman said as Flash fell to the ground, the corruption taking him over faster than the others. The Dark Knight reached into a pouch and withdrew a hypodermic gun. Damian instantly recognized it and knew that the vial contained a mix of Tetrodotoxin, from a species of puffer fish, and box jellyfish venom.

"Father!" Cried out, know exactly what he was thinking.

"Get back!" He shouted to keep his son away, lest he get compromised, too. He didn't know about Raven's spell and he would not want his son to suffer his own fate. He plunged the needle into his leg and injected all the deadly cocktail into his system. Immediately, he felt the entity fighting to purge the toxins. He fell to his knees and rolled on his back as his body was racked with unspeakable pain.

"What the hell?" Jaime spoke up, confused by what Batman just did.

"It's a nerve toxin," Robin explained. "For Bane…" Its original purpose was to overwhelm Bane's venom, weaken him enough to be subdued. But Batman was using it to shock his own system and purge the corruption demon. It worked. A few seconds later, the demon fled and dissipated back to the realm from whence it came. The rest of the League however…

The Titans watched as their skin turned dark red and they obtained four, glowing red eyes, much like the demons they had fought last night. Flash was constantly arcing electricity and his form was twitching and flickering, the demon struggling to contain the Speedster's power.

"The Kryptonian has unearthed the Infernal Shrine, Raven," the demon possessing Wonder Woman declared as Demon-Cyborg joined his possessed comrades.

"The 'who' did the 'what'?" Beetle was confused. He wasn't the only one.

"An ancient shrine built by Satanists," Raven explained quickly. "It has magical properties."

"You," Demon-Flash spoke, "are the shrine's final piece."

"She stays here," Damian shot back. Morally unwilling and unable to give in.

"You dare challenge us?" Demon-Wonder Woman smirked as she strode forward and drew her sword. Demon-Flash and Demon-Cyborg launched into the attack.

Damian got a lucky hit when he tripped Demon-Flash by striking him in the legs with his sheathed sword. He rose up, drew his blade barely in time to block a strike from Demon-Wonder Woman who then kicked him to the side. Beetle engaged Demon-Cyborg, stunning him and then blasting him away with a shoulder cannon. He too was barely able to block a sword strike with his shield. But, he soon found himself hurled through the air and crashing through one of the fountains when Demon-Wonder Woman launched him.

Beast Boy tackled her to the ground but was thrown off. He leapt at her, shifting into an elephant mid-air and tried to crush her when he landed. He reared back to charge her only to be KO'd by a rapid uppercut, his unconscious body reverting to human form. Recognizing that the demon-possessed Amazon was the bigger threat, Starfire launched into the attack. She first stunned her with energy blasts then flew into her, bringing the fight inside where, hopefully, she could use her familiarity of the grounds, to her advantage.

As Beetle battled Demon-Cyborg, Robin moved back to Raven's side, taking on the role of bodyguard. When Demon-Flash regained his feet, Robin threw the last of his shurikens. They missed as he expected, he was hoping they'd disorient his opponent, leaving him exposed to attack. But, Demon-Flash was too fast and Damian was sent sprawling to the deck from a left hook, blood spurting from his nose.

Inside, Demon-Wonder Woman was just too much for Starfire. The Amazonian was the League's greatest close quarters fighter and, when the alien princess brought the fight in doors she inadvertently took the fight onto ground where her opponent reigned. Inside, her energy bolts were almost useless, the possessed-warrior easily dodged the attacks and got in too close for them to be effective.

Robin got to his feet only to see Beetle, his wings burned off by Demon-Cyborg, crash to the ground. "Beetle!" He called out only to be body slammed by Demon-Flash. Before he could recover he felt a strong had around his throat soon followed by a very painful and paralyzing vibration within his chest. "AHHH!" He cried out in pain as he saw Demon-Flash's hand, moving rapidly between the molecules, buried in his chest. So long as that hand was moving he'd live, it'd be painful, but he'd live.

Kori was then thrown from the twelfth floor of the Tower and crashed onto the ground. Demon-Wonder Woman landed on Kori's back and drew her lasso around the woman's neck. Raven tried to move forward but was stopped by the clear threat to her friends. "I will break her, Raven," Demon Wonder-Woman stated to clarify the matter.

' _No…'_ Raven looked to her surrogate sister in fear.

"I stop my hand for an instant," Demon-Flash added his threat to Damian, "this one dies, too."

' _Damian!'_ She couldn't let him die. He was becoming one of her best friends and was willing to fight his own father to protect her. She also knew that, if the Titans were to stand a chance, they'd need him. He was the only one whose intellect could rival Batman's. "Wait!" She shouted at the demons. "I'll go," she said softly as she lowered her hood. "As the daughter of your Lord Trigon," she summoned her demon powers, her skin changing pigment, and her eyes, now numbering four, began to glow, "I order you to release these feeble humans."

Damian felt his lungs reform and his heart resume normal rhythms. As Raven opened a portal to the desert the demon possessed Leaguers joined her. The battered Titans, who had just gotten their asses kicked despite their bravery, regrouped. Damian, holding his flank as he struggled to control his breathing, looked on as Raven turned to meet his gaze. Both could feel the other's heartbreak at the reluctant parting. "Goodbye," she said too softly for any of them to hear it.

As Raven drew her hood back up, Jaime saw Demon-Cyborg's exposed back. At first, he thought to get in a parting shot, for honor's sake. But then he saw Batman's unconscious body off to the side. _'He injected himself with toxins to shock the demon out of his body,'_ the Blue Beetle realized. He quickly took aim and had Scarab fire a taser bolt at his target.

The bolt imbedded itself right into the base of Cyborg's skull. Instantly, three hundred-thousand volts raced into Cyborg's systems. The effect was immediate: the demon was expelled and returned to its own realm. A second later, Raven and her 'escorts' had slipped through the portal.

XXXXX

The Titan's brought both Batman and Cyborg into the wrecked Tower. Of the two, Batman was the most immediate concern. While Cyborg's systems would be able to repair him, the toxin in Batman's blood system was still potentially lethal. Thankfully, Robin knew the cure. A mix of antihistamines, adrenaline and copious amounts of intravenous fluids. It wasn't much, but it was something.

As he was seeing to his father, the other Titans were getting their injuries tended to. The Scarab was quickly re-growing its wings and Kori was examining Garfield's head to make sure the hit he took didn't do anything permanent. As he set his father on one of the couches, oxygen mask on his face, IV in his arm, the sun was setting. He knew he wouldn't wake for another day at least. If Trigon arrived before that, they'd be in trouble.

' _Focus,'_ he said to himself as he took a deep breath. Folding his arms behind his back he walked to the windows to contemplate. _'First order: take stock. What do we have? What does the enemy have?'_

The armory was still intact, but what use their weapons would have against the _devil_ was unknown. On top of that, the enemy had under his control three of the most powerful members of the Justice League: Wonder Woman, Flash and the _Superman_. On their own, each would be an almost impossible fight. Together, it _would_ be impossible. And even if Cyborg regained consciousness in time, he would not be enough against Superman.

"Superman," Damian said out loud. That was the key. He was the first of the League to be possessed. It must've been why the first corruptor was in Metropolis that night. The Weather Wizard was an accident. It was after Superman. Damian looked back to his father and noted his belt. _'If Superman was compromised, he'd keep it close…'_ He walked over and checked the pouch. A green light emanated from the lead lined container. _'We may still have a chance…'_


	8. Robin Steps Up

CH. 07: ROBIN STEPS UP

They gathered around Cyborg as his systems began to chirp and blink. "I think he's coming around," Kori said as the red diodes and conduits on his body began to intensify. Finally, his red eye blinked and focused along with his organic eye opening.

"Ugh," the former high school quarterback known as 'Victory' grunted.

"I think he's back online," Jaime said as he stepped back from the recovering leaguer.

"Holy crap!" Victor Stone snapped as he bolted upright.

"Did that sound demonic to anyone else?" Garfield was ready with a witty comment, as usual.

"A little," Jaime agreed. Given the previous days' events, blasphemy wasn't exactly off the list of potential 'symptoms' of demonic possession. Not yet. Due credit to his parentage, Robin didn't bat an eye.

"The things it made me see," Victor said as he brought his feet to the floor. He saw some of the demon's thoughts, glimpses of where it came from, and scattered scenes from the fight yesterday morning. He may be a cyborg, but he was still human deep down. He wanted to take a minute to collect himself. But the Titans didn't have time to spare.

"Cyborg," Kori brought him back to reality. "How do we save Raven?"

"I…" He hesitated. His memory banks were devoid of any useful data on that. The demon was somehow able to prevent any clues from bleeding over. "I don't think you can…"

' _There goes that hope,'_ Damian said to himself. Not that he was expecting a different result from when the Wizard was freed from possession. He didn't have any memory of it either. That's when Cyborg noticed the other patient in the room.

"Oh, no," he said as he stood up. _'That's so not good.'_ "How bad is he?" _'If Batman is down what chance do we have? Lantern is out of the Solar System, Aquaman won't be able to respond fast enough, and Shazam…'_

"He's been out for twenty-four hours," Damian explained as everyone looked over. It was a waiting game for the Batman. Damian did everything he could to prevent the toxins from becoming fatal. Now, it was just a question of how long it'd take his system to recover. "He sacrificed himself…risked death to give us a fighting chance at life." He may not have the most cordial relationship with his father. But that didn't mean he wasn't bothered by his current state. He then turned back to Cyborg. "Which is more than I can say for the rest of the League." He was still wondering why no one else on the 'senior' team had a backup plan to prevent themselves from being corrupted.

"Damian," Kori cut him off. "This isn't the time to squabble. We have to get Raven back." Little did she know that Damian had spent the whole night split between monitoring Cyborg, his father, and refining his gear for just such a mission. The hardest part was fixing his datapad, which was shattered when he got kicked by Wonder Woman. He only fixed it just before they came to speak to Cyborg.

He told them 'preparation is a prerequisite for victory'. Damian had studied history in abundance, especially military history. And he'd learned long ago that few battles were won by blind dumb luck on the part of the victors and/or sheer stupidity on the part of the defeated. Luck and stupid enemies were not strategies. To win, you had to be prepared for the battle you expected and any surprises that might come. And he was taught to be prepared for anything.

"We don't even know where she is," Beetle explained. He had spent the night combing through their archives and satellite data to find her. No luck. Wherever this shrine was, the demons were keeping it cloaked somehow. Cyborg couldn't help but notice that Robin seemed prepared to get that answer.

' _What's this kid up to now?'_ Mr. Stone asked himself. Garfield was wondering the same thing as he looked around Robin's arm at the datapad in his hand. It was displaying some kind of map.

"She's in the Middle East," he explained once the trace program had finally located her after rebooting. "Sixty miles north of Kandak City." Everyone recoiled at the specificity of his statement.

"How did you…?" Garfield asked what everyone was thinking.

"I put a tracer on her," he answered as he closed the pad and returned it in its pouch.

"When?" Jaime asked next. _'I don't recall him tagging me with anything!'_

"About thirty seconds after we met," he kept the details minimum. The 'rice grains' he dropped when he first arrived were micro-RFID chips that adhered to flesh. Slowly they absorbed into the person and only nano-surgery would be able to remove them. "Same time I put one on each of you." Kori and Garfield placed their hands on their hips and shot him indignant glares along with Jaime. "What?" If Cyborg had any reservations that Robin was not Batman's blood child they were now shattered.

' _That's the kind of paranoid, forward thinking, just-in-case thing Batman would do,'_ he said to himself.

So now they knew where she was, the question now was getting to her before Trigon arrived. "Cyborg," Kori looked to him. "You have the ability to manifest boom-tubes, do you not?"

"Yeah, I can boom us there," he nodded. But he was worried about the odds they faced. "But you guys barely held your own against Flash and Wonder Woman…" _'To say nothing about me…'_ "And that's without Superman being on deck." He was surprised to hear Damian speak up on that as well.

"He shouldn't be a problem," the younger Wayne said as he began to head for the armory. He still needed to restock his shuriken and grenades and sharpen his sword.

"Yeah right," Garfield chuckled. "Like _you_ got a way to take out _Superman_." Damian stopped in his tracks. For a moment, everyone thought he'd yell some arrogant comeback. Instead, he just turned and shot Beast Boy an evil grin before continuing on to the armory. "Oh, my God, I think he does…"

' _Yup,'_ Victor sighed as he recognized that smirk. _'He's definitely his father's love-child.'_

XXXXX

He rubbed his sore flank as he grabbed a handful of concussion shuriken. Even though his armor had a titanium-kevlar bi-weave with a generous padding underneath Wonder Woman's kick must've cracked a rib. It didn't hinder his breathing or movement, but it was still painful. So, before he came to the armory, Robin grabbed an anesthesia pen in the infirmary and applied local doses around the affected area. It was just now starting to take effect.

"Were you hurt?" Kori spoke up from the doorway.

"Nothing I can't manage," he responded. "And nothing that local anesthesia won't handle."

"How do you plan to handle Superman?" Kori asked him as he restocked his supply of grenades. He then reached into another pouch and opened it up. The green glow told Starfire all she needed to know. "Kryptonite."

"Father had it on him," Damian explained. "He's the only one Superman trusts to hold onto the material. He keeps it handy just in case of a situation like this." He grabbed a sharpening stone and began to run it over his sword a few times to hone it down. "If I can just get one good scratch on Superman with it…"

"That stuff could kill him, Damian," Kori protested.

"It's the only way to expel the demon possessing him," he snapped back at her. "Superman is the key to winning this fight. They took control of him first in order to dig up the shrine and guard it. Then they went after Raven."

"And now that they have her…"  
"He'll be their first line of defense." Finished honing his blade he sheathed it. He then led her back to the others. "I have a plan," he said to the group. Kori nodded to them, silently instructing them to listen. "Cyborg will boom us into the sky above the shrine. Starfire, Cyborg and Beetle will draw out Superman. Beast Boy," he turned to the green shapeshifter, "you'll need to carry me close behind them. When Superman is close they'll break off and you'll have to launch me at him."

"Launch you!?" He shook his head. "You know, I figured you had a crazy plan. But, I didn't think it was kamikaze crazy!" Damian produced the kryptonite.

"This will break him free of the demon," he said before returning it. "We'll only get one shot at him." He looked to Cyborg. "You're right. Without Superman, we don't stand a chance. Everything depends on getting him back on our side."

"This is muy loco," Jaime shook his head. "You're sure this will work?"

"It has to," Damian responded. "Unless you have a better plan."

"There's no time," Cyborg butted in. "And even if there was, every minute wasted trying to come up with something 'better' is just one more minute Trigon has to cross over."

"I agree," Kori said. "We go with Damian's plan." She looked down to him and gave him a soft smile.

As Jaime checked his weapons, Garfield shifted into an Andean condor and took a perch on one of the chairs. Damian strapped his sword to his left hip, just behind the bone. "Remember," he said as Cyborg prepared to pop open a boom tube. "You need to draw Superman straight at us, funnel him into a head-on attack."

"Won't be a problem," Cyborg nodded. "Shoot and scoot. If he goes left we shift fire left."

"Exactly," he nodded before looking to Beast Boy. "Let's go."

"Got it," the shapeshifter nodded before hopping onto Robin's shoulders. He hooked the talons underneath the armpits, careful not to dig in too tightly. Cyborg opened a boom-tube and the Tians charged through.

XXXXX

Constructed during a forgotten era, the Infernal Shrine sat along the Jordanian-Saudi border in a remote area of the desert. The city of Kandak was the nearest population center. Despite being in such proximity, the locals failed to take notice of the new structure in the desert, nothing ever happened out there, not even research for oil fields. They also mistook the occasional bolt of energy for heat lightning. The truth was more terrifying.

Two rings of obsidian and limestone rotated along separate planes around a horseshoe shaped block of solid obsidian. Suspended by dark energy with in that obsidian focal point, was one Rachel 'Raven' Roth. Her genetic link to this world acted as a grounding agent while her demi-demonic heritage gave power to the shrine to open a portal within it. The process was inherently painful.

For her part, Raven resisted as much as she could. She had to hold out long enough for her friends to devise a plan. Deep down she knew it was a long shot of astronomical proportions. With three of the strongest superheroes under the demons' control, the shrine was very heavily guarded. But she still had to do something.

So, she fought to prevent the shrine full access to her demonic powers. It was impossible to completely shut it out, but she could inhibit the flow. The downside was that this whole process risked a permanent conversion to her demonic form. The closer she was to her 'father', the more potent the pull. And he was getting closer.

Demon-Superman's attention was drawn to the sky when a strange light flashed behind some clouds. It wasn't lightning, it was a constant glow. His supervision enabled him to see the Boom-Tube open on the other side. Whoever it was, they thought to use the clouds for cover. He'd prove to them that they were mistaken to think a surprise attack would work.

Beetle was the first to exit the tube, on the left wing of the lead formation. Cyborg was next, taking the right wing with Kori just behind him in the center. This 'inverted V' formation would enable them to concentrate their fire but also invite their target to strike at the center. In other words, sucker him into their trap. "You know the plan," Kori said as they spotted their target race up to meet them head on. The others nodded and readied their weapons. "Titans, go!"

Starfire fired the first volley, followed by a burst of plasma fire from Jaime's cannons that was meant to keep Superman's flight straight and true. Cyborg followed up with a heavy sonic blast to disorient Superman and prevent him from spotting Beast Boy and Robin. They had to keep his attention focused on them until the last second. They worked this pattern as the possessed-Kryptonian dodged the majority of the attacks. A few landed, and they had to, lest he cue in on the ruse. The plan worked.

Right before they collided with him, the trio broke off, surprising the accelerating Superman whose attention was drawn after his attackers. This was exactly what was needed. When he looked back up, after seeing the three fliers were not turning to pursue, he was rewarded with the sight of Robin being launched right into his face.

He felt the Kryptonite before he saw it, immediately after Robin pulled it from the pouch. The sudden burst of radiation hit him like a tidal wave and inhibit his flight and stunned him long enough. The moment Robin made contact he slammed one of the sharpened ends into Superman's left flank, near the appendix. It wouldn't be instantly fatal, but it would hopefully be serious enough to force the demon out.

The demon resisted as much as it could. The pain was as intense as any suffering in Hell. It was more than just the piercing of flesh or the burning of skin. The radiation seeped into the whole body, flowing like heat and electricity. White hot pain. But, still it held on. Robin twisted the shard imbedded in the skin, sending a whole new wave of pain into the victim. That did it. Unable to take the pain the demon fled, hoping to never face the Boy Wonder again.

But that left a new problem: gravity. It wouldn't be the fall that might kill them both, it was the sudden stop at the bottom. With the wind whipping past, it took everything Damian had to keep from being stripped from the Man of Steel. Even with the Kryptonite imbedded in his flank, he was still his best bet of survival. But time was running out, he could see the ground racing up to meet them. Then, just a few seconds prior to impact he felt Superman twitch and wrap his body around the smaller form in front of him.

Damian was rendered temporarily unconscious for a few seconds by the impact. The two of them came to a rest in a crater twenty-feet deep. He came to just as Superman's body went limp from its protective ball around him. Cautiously he looked up, fearing he might have plunged the shard too deep, weakened him too much. If Superman died, they stood little chance against Flash and Wonder Woman.

"Ugh," the Kryptonian stirred. He opened his eyes and locked them immediately on Robin. "You mind…removing that?" He groaned out as he willed his body to remain still, lest he exaggerate the injury. Robin blinked, almost half surprised his plan actually worked. He then grabbed the shard and did his best to remove it with as little movement as possible.

The shard had become wedged in a rib bone so it took some effort but, once free it slid right out. He then returned the shard to its lead housing, so Superman's physiology could recover and start repairing itself. Superman sat up, his glare still fixed on the teen. _'Leave it to Bruce's son to come up with something so crazy and…painful for me,'_ he said to himself. He knew that Koriand'r would _never_ have devised such a plan. Only someone of the Dark Knights own lineage could pull this off.

He had a sneaking suspicion that Batman purposefully took pains to knock him down a peg whenever things like this came up. Just to remind him that he was not entirely immortal. He was strangely appreciative of the motive but that didn't mean he enjoyed the acts. And now it seemed Robin was following in his father's footsteps on that front. Robin noticed Superman's attempt at the 'Bat-Glare' which everyone seemed to be trying to copy these days. "What?" He shrugged at the silent criticism.

Superman stood up and brushed some mud off his shoulder, massaging it from the impact it took in the crash, as the rest of the Titans landed in the crater. He instantly set his sights on Starfire. "Damian," she quickly checked him over to ensure he was not hurt. She was worried about his injured rib but he brushed it off. It'd take more than that to put him down. He was the Son of the Bat, after all.

"Starfire," Superman stepped forward. "You okayed this?" He inquired of her, intentionally using a borderline hostile tone. The alien woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Yes," she replied firmly. Damian deserved credit for the plan, but she'd take responsibility for it and the criticism. That's what leaders did. Superman's visage remained impassive for a brief second before breaking into an appreciative smile.

"Good call," he said and was rewarded by Starfire's relieved sigh. Her attention went to his wound and the blood that was drying on his uniform.

"It's okay," he reassured her as he patted the wound, the pain quickly dying away. "It's healing."

At that moment, they heard Raven's cries of pain echo across the desert. The group raced to the rim of the crater to see that the energy surrounding the shrine was intensifying. Raven's cries became more and more pained. It was clear that she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Trigon was knocking on Earth's door.

Superman's attention was drawn to a cloud of dust at the base of the shrine. It was Flash, the demon possessing him to move into the attack to defend the shrine. But this time, the good guys held the advantage, both in numbers and firepower. "I've got Flash," Superman said to the team. "The rest of you get Raven off that thing!" The Titans nodded and raced to avoid Flash and hopefully get to Raven before Trigon was able to open the portal. Garfield transformed into an Arabian Horse and Robin rode him towards the shrine in a bizarre imitation of Lawrence of Arabia. The similarity was not lost on the comic relief of the team.

"Let's go, Damian of Arabia," he chuckled as they raced forward.

"Shut up, green bean," Robin retorted.


	9. Go to Hell

CH. 08: GO TO HELL

Just as the Titan's reached the shrine, the energy sphere hovering above it dissipated and the rings vaporized. The energy then formed into a pillar and shot down into the limestone pyramid below. Her vision blurring and her head spinning, Raven fell to the ground, with Kori barely catching her before she could crash. She gently carried the barely conscious girl down to the top of the steps as the rest of the Titans arrived.

' _Raven,'_ Damian held his breath when he saw her. Her flawless skin had turned to an angry red, and her eyes glowed with the fires of Hell. She also looked drained, not just of her energy, but also of her life, her soul. She did not _look_ like Raven and he did not like it. She was his friend, and whatever she went through would have to be avenged.

' _Damian,'_ Raven spotted her friend on the back of a green horse. Shoulder's back, face stone cold, eyes locked with hers; he looked strangely heroic. She could feel his apprehension at her physical state, his concern for her well-being.

"You can get off my back, now," Garfield said to Robin, no doubt getting tired of transporting him first through the air and then across the desert. He was a Titan, not a pack animal. "Boy Bony-Ass," Robin climbed down but ignored the comment. Robin climbed down and walked towards Raven as Beast Boy reverted to human form.

As he approached, Raven felt the inexplicable urge to go to him. She stood up on shaky feet and promptly collapsed into him. To his credit, Damian gently let her rest against him, helping to hold her up until her strength returned. But, whatever momentary relief she felt at seeing her friend again, was soon to be replaced by despair. "You alright?" Cyborg asked, hoping that the dissipation of the energy sphere meant that the portal was now closed. It was not to be.

"Nothing is right," she said remorsefully as she rested her hand on Robin's chest.

As soon as she said that, cracks began to form at the center of the shrine. A hole quickly began to form and the limestone blocks began to fall away. "Run!" Starfire shouted as she took Raven in her arms. "Run!" As they raced down the steps, Damian risked a glance back at the shrine. He was rewarded with the impossibly massive head of the Devil himself!

A fire blazed on the top of a massive red head, two black horns, like flawless, polished obsidian, protruded from either temple. Two smaller horns extended from above the eyebrows. And four, large ovals of pure fire blazed between massive, pointed ears. Trigon had arrived.

More fires appeared as Trigon rose from the shrine, dark energy lancing across his whole body. As she saw her father for the first time in three years, Raven felt a wave of shame and terror wash over her. Robin felt it too. Trigon closed his eyes and the flames across his shoulder extinguished, replaced by a great flowing mane of white hair. When his eyes reopened they were burning with even greater intensity. "Well," Beetle spoke up, breaking the silence as Trigon's massive body rose from the shrine, "this sucks."

As if to drive the point home, Trigon's horns grew outward and sprouted a pair of tines, framing his already demonic visage with sharp spires of obsidian. He slowly floated down to the desert floor and landed with a massive thud that kicked sand up into the Titan's faces. He then took note of the nearest city and bristled with the thought of getting his genocide on.

The Titans could only watch helplessly as Trigon strode right over them, paying them no heed. Why should he? How were they a threat to him? "He'll bring Hell on Earth," Raven said as she watched her father move with casual purpose towards the defenseless city.

"How do we stop him?" Cyborg asked next.

"There's only one way," she replied and Damian recalled her story. He may be invulnerable to harm, but he could be beaten.

"You're going to put him back in the crystal," he looked to her.

"In the unlikely event that I can make it there," she said closing her eyes. Robin could feel her self-doubt.

"You'll make it," he said to her. "We'll see to it that you do."

"Robin's right," Starfire agreed. "Can you take us to where you sealed him last time?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I can try…" She was still feeling drained, but, with her father here, she could tap into the demonic energy a lot easier. Ironically, his arrival may have given them a chance to strike back. "But he's bound to have it guarded. I won't be able to seal him and defend myself at the same time."

"Leave that to us," Garfield said confidently. "Just think of us as your bodyguards." Raven nodded and stepped to the side to open a portal.

"Superman," Cyborg got on the communicator with the Kryptonian as the team's witch opened a portal that lead to Trigon's dimension. "Raven has a plan. The Titan's need my help," he knew that once they were through the portal they'd need all the firepower they could get.

" _Where are you going?"_ Superman asked next.

" _I'm going to Hell,"_ was his reply.

"Somehow," Flash spoke up after resetting his broken leg. "I think he means that literally." Wonder Woman rolled her eyes and took off to show that this 'Devil' was nothing but a punk.

XXXXX

When he first stepped through and took in the sight of Hell, Garfield was reminded of some scenes from his favorite computer game series _Starcraft_. It looked like he had walked right into a Zerg Hive. The next thing he noticed was that he felt like had a sudden case of the flu. "Ohh," he groaned quietly as the others followed him through. "I don't feel so good." But he took a deep breath and sucked it up. He couldn't let the others down now.

After closing the portal, Raven explained more of the details of the plan. "The crystal can only be touched by me," she said. "He may have escaped it but he can't destroy it."

"I just hope he left a trail of bread crumbs," Beetle said as he looked around. Raven ignored the comment and led the way straight to the center of the realm.

As they walked along, Robin was bothered by something Raven had said. He moved closer both to protect her and so they could talk in private. "If no one except you can touch the shard," he whispered to her, "how could he have escaped?"

"I don't know," she said as they came to the main path, lined with giant bones. "No ordinary denizen of this place could touch it, lest they become trapped with him."

"So, someone else had to do it," Damian realized. "Someone not of this realm. But who?"

"It doesn't matter," Raven shrugged. "The only thing that matters is imprisoning him again."

"I've got your back," Robin promised as they came to a series of steps that led down to a web of flesh and bone bridges. In the center of the cavern was a tower of solid granite, glowing green from ethereal energy.

"Home sweet home," Raven said in a demurred tone. Robin looked at the bridges and did not like the tactical situation they presented. They'd been walking for five minutes but had yet to see a single demon. However, he knew that once they were on those bridges they could be easily pinned down and torn apart. Literally.

"Can't you just transport us inside?" Damian asked next.

"No," she replied. "It's shielded." Again, more evidence that something wasn't right to Robin. If _she_ couldn't get to the crystal, then who could? In the back of the group, Garfield kept sweating, his heightened senses were having difficulty coping with the atmosphere in Hell.

Robin and Starfire flanked Raven as they progressed along the bridge towards the hovering spire. Both kept their eyes opened for any sign of an ambush. Strangely, none came even when they were in the center of the span, the best place to do it. Instead, as they approached the steps at the end, Raven hesitated and held her head, feeling a sudden headache. But it was not stress, she could sense the first wave coming.

Robin's attention was drawn upward by the sound of high pitched shrieking. At first it looked like smoke. But then, he noticed the two black masses flanking the spire were made up of hundreds of flying beasts that resembled demonic lampreys. As the Titans readied their weapons Garfield fought back the urge to vomit and fell to his knees.

Something was trying to get inside him and take charge over his transformation. It was failing due to Raven's spell, but that didn't make the process any better for him. "Garfield!" Kori cried out and raced to his side. Her concern was rewarded by two bat wings that sprouted from his back. Beetle was thrown to his butt by shock.

"Dude!" He shouted as the wings expanded over his friend. "What the hell!?"

Robin brought his attention back to the incoming hostiles. Like his fight with Beetle against the demons, he and Raven silently settled on a 'combined arms' strategy. She'd engage the hostiles from a distance while he handled the ones that got in close. Their synergy was superb. She'd blast targets out of his range and he'd cut apart the ones that tried to get in behind her. Then he'd come back around and strike at the next enemy, as if he knew right where it was. She too struck at beasts with barely a glance, instinctively blasting them apart with dark energy.

Starfire took to the air and drew off a squadron of beasts, blasting them with energy. Cyborg and Beetle covered their flanks, combining their firepower whenever a group of the creatures clumped together. But, Garfield was a problem. He was immobile and the Titan's couldn't move forward without leaving him exposed.

This also forced the Titans to be spread thin. Thus, leaving Beetle open to becoming wrapped up tightly by a lamprey. He struggled to break free, but the beast was too strong. A second lamprey came over to devour him. But, just as it struck forward it was grabbed by a giant, fur covered arm. Jaime could only watch as a giant, werewolf-lizard-demon with green skin literally pulled the lamprey apart. It then leapt at the serpent holding Jaime and yanked it off, spinning Beetle like a top.

When he came to a stop and fell to the ground he couldn't help but watch the green beast whip the lamprey around like a pool noodle and smash it to death on the ground. The were-beast then threw the carcass off the bridge to the pits of lava below. "Gar!" Jaime called out as the beast began to pant. "You still with us?" He asked the salivating, weathered creature. It took a few deep breaths before looking over and throwing up a pair of shaka hands, chuckling. The two then turned to resume the main fight.

The Titans were finishing off the last of the lampreys when Robin was taken airborne by one of the creatures. Raven blasted its body, freeing him before it could bite down on him. He took out his grapple gun and zipped himself back to the bridge, beheading a lamprey on his way down.

Meanwhile Beast Boy seemed to be having fun shifting into new beasts, thanks to the variety that Hell provided, and seeing what he could do. Now he was some kind of armored, demonic monkey, leaping from bone strut to bone strut, whipping the headless carcass of a lamprey like a flail. With their team reformed, the Titans quickly vanquished the last of the lampreys and ascended the stairs.

"Welcome home," a gravely voice echoed from above them as they reached the top, "sister." The group looked up at three rocky spires to see three familiar forms. These demons leapt down to the path in front of the Titans.

"It's the freak show, again," Beetle said as the Titans readied for a fight. Thankfully, they knew how to fight these things and with Cyborg, they'd wipe the floor with them. At least, that's what they thought.

Instead, Raven's three 'siblings' moved close together and their bodies started to bubble and sprout strange appendages. _'What the hell?'_ Damian quirked an eyebrow at the sight of the demon's bodies converging into one giant monstrosity. The monstrosity reared back and revealed its form to be that of some demonic Hydra.

The central head spewed a torrent of fire that scattered the Titans. Cyborg retaliated with a plasma blast. Beetle joined his side and fired away with his cannons. Both had to dodge razor sharp legs that slammed between them. Cyborg backed away with Beetle providing cover fire. Beast Boy leapt onto the left head and began to dig his claws into its carapace, hoping to draw it away from the steps leading to the spire. Starfire raced overhead and concentrated her fire on the central head.

Seeing a chance to get Raven to the spire, Damian took her hand and pulled her along towards the entryway. But, as they reached their destination, the left head slammed Garfield into a rock spire, throwing him off. It then turned its attention to the teens below. "Get inside!" Damian order, pushing her along as he turned to face it. He pulled a pair of concussion shuriken from a pouch and used them to blind the head as it raced towards him. He then rolled underneath and slashed upwards. Unfortunately, its under belly was just as armored as the rest of it.

Raven didn't want to leave her friends, but she knew that the quickest way to help them was to seal Trigon back into the crystal. Once he was trapped, all his minions would disperse. She just hoped the Titans would last long enough. She shot upward to the pinnacle of the spire where she could concentrate her energy and open it, revealing the inner shrine where the crystal waited.

She was still fighting to maintain her energy levels. But, between being forced to summon her father, opening a portal to Hell, battling the lampreys and now opening the spire, it was starting to take its toll. But, like Garfield had said, her friends were doing their best to buy her time and give her the chance she needed to win the battle for them. Little did she know, a shadow tracked her movements as she approached the platform.

Damian grabbed a handful of grenades and tried to toss them into one of the Hydra's mouths. But just as he was winding up the tail whipped around and sent him flying into Jaime, his grenades flying to the side and nearly taking out Cyborg. The Hydra turned to face the prone pair, preparing to barbeque them when, suddenly, a massive green chimera slammed into the beast, its flame blast missing them by a mile.

"Dude!" Jaime cheered his buddy who was now following the Hydra's example and had taken the form of a mythical creature to compliment the Titans' firepower. As he got to his feet, Damian felt something draw his attention to the top of the spire.

For some reason, he knew Raven was in danger, or about to be. Plus, it seemed too simple. Trigon should've anticipated they could get this far and wouldn't have just left three goons to guard the spire. Having those corruptors lie in wait at the Tower while his demons went after them at the fair bespoke a being that took precautions. "Cyborg!" He called out to Victor. "I need you to boom me up there!"

"I don't even know what's up there!" He shouted back as he ducked a tail swipe. "And with all that debris-!"

"Just get me close then," he said pulling out his grapple gun. "Raven will be vulnerable while she seals Trigon!"

As she approached the pit of fire, a small bridge system materialized to allow her passage to the central platform where the crystal still floated. _'It's still intact,'_ as she knew it would be. _'But no sign of how he could've escaped it.'_ There were no signs of any damage to the spire or pedestal. Nor did she detect any indication a summoning rite was performed. But she couldn't worry about that now. She came here to do a job.

But, as she reached out for the crystal she heard movement. On the opposite side of the crystal she saw a dark mass land outside the pit, followed by the sound of metal flying through the air. A split second after she heard that, the crystal shattered right in front of her, showering her with shards. She barely dodged the blade as it flew past and angled back around to its owner.

The Boom-Tube shot Damian out just below the rim of the upper spire. He immediately latched his grapple to one of the bone spikes that ringed the platform. He overflew the fire pit in time to see Raven get punched to the ground by a dark figure. He reoriented his angle and flew down to land between Raven and her assailant. When he looked up he was shocked to see a familiar set of armor, and a familiar face. "Grandfather?"


	10. Damian vs The Demon

CH. 09: DAMIAN VS THE DEMON

"Grandfather?" Damian exhaled in disbelief as he stood upright. It looked like him. Except his skin was a dark gray, his hair almost pitch-black, and his eyes a deep red color. _'How is he…?'_

"Damian," Ra's spoke in a gravely voice. "My blood."

' _No,'_ Robin said to himself. _'It can't be him.'_ "It's a trick!" He declared as he took a guard stance with his sword. "I saw you die."

"No trick," Ra's shook his head. "It's me, I assure you. I exist. Lord Trigon is my sustenance."

' _Sustenance?'_ "He's a devil," Damian growled in response as Raven stirred behind him.

"No. He's a god of necessity," his grandfather explained. "How do you think I attained my power? Where do you think the Lazarus Pits came from?" He looked into Damian's eyes. "It's all _his_ doing." This shocked Damian. All his life he thought that his grandfather was a hero. A man bent on saving the world from itself. Now, he was openly admitting to being an agent of Trigon. "And he can make things whole again. For a price," he stated coldly. "He can give us the world we wanted, you and I: a perfect world," at that declaration Raven looked over to see something from one of her nightmares.

Standing before her was a man wearing the dark armor of the Black Swordsman from her dreams. And, between her and him was Damian, who she now realized _was_ the Red Knight. But, she felt conflicting emotions raging within Damian. His grandfather was tempting him with his greatest wish. The dream he'd had since he was little and thought lost. Ra's pointed to her with his sword, what he said next caused her to tremble with fear.

"She's the only one who stands in the way," he was telling Damian that she was the price. Kill her and Trigon would grant your wish. "Prove your love, grandson," Ra's said as Damian looked back at her. She could see the confusion and pain on his face. He didn't know what to do. But, she also felt a burning desire within him to be reunited with his beloved grandfather. "Take care of this for me," Ra's said as she looked away, "before my pact with Trigon expires."

' _Kill Raven?'_ Damian could hardly believe it. Here his grandfather was, half-undead, telling him that Trigon was not only the source of his power but also the key to their goal. But…Raven? She'd helped him, and he'd helped her. She was his friend! _'I couldn't…'_ "I…" He hesitated for a moment, trying to think, figure this confusing mess out. "I would do anything to bring you back." He then looked back up, hoping to see something that might convince him his grandfather wasn't serious. "But, grandfather, I-I don't…" He stammered as his heart felt like it was being clenched in a vice.

"You hesitate," Ra's declared. Hesitation was one of the things he despised. "Why? Are you afraid to do the one act that will restore me to life?" And there was that word Damian detested.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" He declared. Something fell into place for him. The words Ra's had used: 'pact', 'price', how Trigon was the source of his power. His connection to the devil went back decades, centuries. He figured it all out. _'He's the one who freed Trigon! Trigon offered to restore him to life if he freed him and did his bidding!'_ Everything that has happened, the fair attack, the corruptors, Trigon's invasion of Earth, the suffering of his friends…it was all because of him! That pissed Damian off.

"You dare disobey me!?" Ra's snapped at him. "Have you forgotten your heritage?"

' _The heritage that drove my mother to madness, and murder a clone of her own son?'_

"You are an al-Ghul!" Ra's declared.

"No," Damian growled as he felt a surge well up inside him. Something he hadn't felt since he fled Nanda Parbat following Slade's attack. A feeling of purpose, of a mission. An identity. "I'm a Titan!"

Damian struck first, but Ra's blocked and parried his attacks. Still, Robin pressed the attack, hoping to put distance between Ra's and Raven. He also made sure to stay between the two as much as possible, lest his grandfather try to attack her again. He failed to protect her once, he couldn't fail her here.

From her spot, Raven watched as Damian began to unknowingly reenact the battles she'd seen between the swordsmen in her dreams. He was battling his grandfather, his _hero_ , all to protect _her_. He was doing this for her. But, why? She looked down and saw the shards of the crystal. All was lost, was it not?

" _Stupid girl,"_ she heard her father's voice in her head. _"You think your allies can stop me now that I'm here? The Justice League?"_ He didn't even laugh, he considered them so beneath him, _"defenders of this realm, less than_ insects _to me."_ And still they would fight him. And still Damian fought for her. _"I will strip their flesh from their bones."_

Damian threw a shuriken at Ra's but it was smacked away, detonating harmlessly in the air beyond the spire. Ra's went for an underhand strike, his blade arcing upward. Damian stepped back and rolled past Ra's who spun his blade around after him. Damian blocked the strike and made an attempt at a roundhouse kick to Ra's' head. But, the 'Demon's Head' merely backed away and Damian merely spun in the air.

" _And your pathetic friends?"_ Trigon continued to mock her as she got up to move to the shards. She couldn't give up. Damian wouldn't give up. Not on the mission. Not on her. She had to find a way. _"I will make them suffer endless pain and you will have to watch."_ Off to the side, Damian was struggling to put up a fight against Ra's al-Ghul. Raven's legs were weak as she moved closer. _"Soon your souls will belong to Trigon. As will your world."_ She dug deep, trying to summon every last ounce of strength to soldier forward.

Damian rolled past Ra's again. He blocked Ra's strike and made one of his own, he then moved to the side, forcing Ra's into a tactical withdrawal. He jumped, aiming a pair of back spin kicks which Ra's blocked with the flat of his blade. Feeling pressed back towards the edge, Ra's shoved Damian off him, the teen barely maintaining his footing as Ra's moved into the attack.

Robin blocked a pair of strikes only to be kicked to the ground by his grandfather. As he rose up he barely had time to register the slash aimed at his chest. He moved back but not fast enough. The sword sliced through his uniform and his flesh. Not enough to do anything remotely fatal, but it hurt and it drew blood. His arm instinctively went to cover the wound. _'That wasn't an accident,'_ Damian realized. _'That was meant to do real damage.'_ But, he fought through the pain and resumed his guard stance.

"Your friends have made you soft," Ra's growled at him. "Ungrateful child. You could've been immortal, like me."

' _And gone mad from it?'_ Damian steeled his resolve. _'I was only another tool for your league. But Raven was my friend. That's worth more than immortality!'_ Ra's attacked once again.

Raven reached the central pedestal and the shards, falling to her knees, her strength seemed to be fleeing with every movement she made. _"Give…up,"_ Trigon growled at her. She could hear Damian fighting behind her. He was losing and she could sense it. She knew he was wounded and starting to get fatigued from trying to match his grandfather's strikes. And yet he kept fighting. In her heart, she knew he would never give up. He would keep fighting until he found a way to win. Or die…protecting her.

She reached down and picked up one of the shards. She felt a faint amount of the magik she used the last time. The original crystal may have been destroyed, but the magik remained. _"You're too weak to stop me, Raven,"_ he tried to intimidate her. _"You always have been."_ She looked at the crystal and, for a brief moment, she saw Damian. And Garfield. And Jaime. And Kori. They had all stood by her, even when she all but confessed to being the motive, the would-be instrument of Armageddon. They defended her from the demons and the Justice League. She couldn't fail to repay that kind of loyalty. That kind of love. _"Just like your mother."_

" _No!"_ She shouted back over their link. _"My only weakness was loving you,"_ back when she was on Azarath. She had sought him out with her magik. Tried to befriend him and love him since he was her father. She thought that would mean something. Give her meaning. _"Hoping I would be loved in return."_ But, he had used her. Used to her to enter Azarath just so he could destroy it and murder her mother in front of her eyes. Just like he was doing again. _"But all you were capable of giving was pain. So, I ran away…"_

For a while, after she had sealed him the first time, she hoped to get him to understand. When she realized he would never change, she fled to Earth. Before long, she met the Titans. A team who were outcasts like herself. But, instead of taking pity on her or each other, they resolved to take her in and help her join them in protecting others. _"Found friends…"_ They gave her a purpose, again. A purpose she could believe in. They became her new family. _"Friends I would give my life for…"_ She could feel him smirk indignantly at that. Sacrifice for others was not something he would _ever_ contemplate doing.

" _Friends who give me love…"_ The sounds of Damian's seemingly impossible battle continued to echo around her. Despite his desperate battle, she could feel his determination. It never wavered. She also felt his fear for her. He fought hard to keep Ra's away from her. It was always about her. Everything he did, since she shared her snack and kindness with him, had been for her. She felt encouraged by his fortitude. A wave of newfound strength flowed over her. Yes. Damian's courage, would give her what she needed. _"And the strength to do this…"_ She rose to her feet.

"No'rak annack ra'kutaq," she began her incantation as she had before. The crystal shard hovered before her. "No'rak annack ra'kutaq. No'rak annack ra'kutaq. No'rak annack ra'kutaq." Over and over she repeated the spell to summon the requisite energies to prime the shard to hold the demon.

Behind her, Damian had gone for a swipe at Ra's legs. He simply hopped over the strike, made a downward strike of his own which Robin barely blocked. But, this left him exposed to a powerful snap kick that sent him sprawling. And his sword tumbling down into the fire pit. Coming to his knees, Robin could see that Raven was floating in the air, beginning to cast her spell to seal Trigon. He also knew this was when she was most vulnerable. Any interruption of the spell and all would be lost.

He heard Ra's charge behind him. He turned in time to see his grandfather go for another downward strike. This one would definitely be fatal. Damian clasped his gauntlets together, their armored wrist plates catching the edge of Ra's sword. He then clasped his palms and fingers over the blunt edge of the blade. Ra's gritted his teeth at the child's defiance. Damian responded by twisting the blade and pulling his grandfather to the ground, the sword wrenching from Ra's grasp.

As Ra's rolled to his feet he caught a double flying kick to the sternum that sent him slamming into a pillar. This time, the damned souls of Hell worked in Damian's favor. They reached out through the rock and began to claw and grasp at Ra's, trying to pull him in to join them in suffering. Damian's wounds, the slash and his ribs, were beginning to flare and the pain increased. He dropped Ra's sword but quickly retrieved it as he held his wound, pressing his elbow to his rib, dulling the pain.

"Damian!" Ra's cried out to him, pleading for help. "Save me!" Even after he tried to kill him, and force him to kill his only friend, the man still begged. "Ahh! Gyah!" The tortured souls began to scratch and bite at him.

' _There's no saving you,'_ Damian said to himself. _'You're already in Hell.'_ Damian Wayne, former al-Ghul, slowly walked forward, his grandfather's sword in his hand. _'So, stay!'_ With one clean swipe, he beheaded the 'Demon's Head'.

Ra's head fell to the ground and reverted to that of a red skinned, four eyed demon. Whether he was a demon using Ra's as a disguise, or if that was his 'true form', Damian didn't know nor care. A pair of clawed hands reached out and pulled it into the pillar with the rest of the body. Robin turned away and marched back to Raven, ready to fight anything else Hell wanted to try and throw at her.

"Grant me the strength of mighty Azarath," Raven implored the goddess spirit. "To contain the demon Trigon within this sacred shard…now and forever!" And with that Damian saw a pillar of dark energy lance into the sky, piercing the red clouds that he had thought were merely the ceiling of a massive cavern. Beneath his feet he could feel the spire quake. At first, he thought the spell would cause it to break apart.

But, soon, he heard a new sound. A ghastly screaming and growling sound. Like the shrieks of thousands of voices crying out in terror. These were soon followed by angry growls and howls that he recognized as Trigon.

Back on Earth, Superman, Wonder Woman and Flash were shaking disorientation form their heads due to the pounding they received from Trigon. When their vision cleared, they saw their foe wrapped in a blanket of dark energy like a straight jacket. And, like many of those who wear straight jackets, he was flailing and thrashing, trying to break free of it. But, it would be to no avail. They watched as he was pulled into the ground, through a portal that led back to his Hell.

" _RAV-!"_ His clawed hand was the last to slip through as he cried out in anger.

" _-EN!"_ The shrieked filled Damian's ears as the entity was pulled, like a cloud of smoke being sucked into a vacuum, down to the shard. When all the dark energy disappeared into the tiny shard, four tiny specks of light glowed before the shard began to emanate its own light. It then plopped into Raven's open palm.

The girl, sapped of energy and filled with relief that it worked, fell back to her knees. Damian was, admittedly, happy to see her skin return to its normal tone and complexion. He walked up to her as she was examining the shard. He kept his left arm across his wound, keeping it in check, as he gently placed his right hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at him he couldn't help but give her a weak smile.

They had done it. They'd fought through Hell's minions, including a demonic Ra's al-Ghul, and resealed Trigon within his prison. Damian was never the one to calculate odds, but he knew it was a difficult task. But, he also knew they would succeed. That was something to be proud of. For her part, Raven couldn't help but smile back. His determination had given her the necessary strength and hope to overcome her fears and save the day. She'd be forever grateful to him.

They were soon joined by the rest of the Titans. Once Trigon was sealed, the Hydra lost all its power and collapsed dead. Garfield and Jaime were disappointed to not have gotten in a 'kill shot', but they weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Raven," Kori said as she touched down in front of them. "Is it over?"

"It'll never be over," she said softly, her shoulders slumping. "Trigon will spend every single minute trying to get out of here." She held the shard clenched in her hand, as if letting up for an instant would enable him to break free. "So," she glanced to the side, painful thoughts creeping into her mind, "he needs to be watched. Every single minute." Behind Kori, Beast Boy, Beetle and Cyborg were having a discussion about Cyborg joining the team.

Meanwhile, Damian and Kori shared a concerned look. They knew Raven was worried about a repeat. She had a point. If he could escape once, he could escape again. He was hesitant to tell Kori about Ra's but knew he'd have to once they got back to the Tower. Especially since she'd want to check his wound and would ask how he got it. But, for now, they had to go home.

So, Koriand'r simply held of her hand to the young girl. Raven looked up to see Kori, Robin and the others giving her soft, appreciative smiles. "Let's go home," Kori said softly. She smiled weakly and took her hand, allowing herself to be helped to her feet.

"I'll take you back," she said as she opened a portal that led back to the Tower. The Titans began to walk towards it, but Raven didn't move. Damian sensed something painful within her just as she spoke up. "Unfortunately," she said just before they could step through. They stopped and turned to her. She backed away, her regret evident on her face. Damian could sense what she was thinking. "This is my home," she said, folding her arms.

Damian knew she didn't really believe it. He could feel her true feelings on the matter. He still didn't understand why he could feel some of the things she did. But, he knew she didn't belong here; and he knew she didn't really believe it either. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise. He'd felt the same way when he first joined the Titans. Now he knew differently. "I have to watch him," she explained as she began to turn away. She moved to take 'her' place at the center of the platform. Warden to Trigon's prison. And just like when she tried to leave back at the Tower, she was stopped by the last person she expected to speak up. She shouldn't have been surprised by now.

"It's not your home!" Damian spoke up without even really having to think about it. But, being on the Titans, without her around…it just didn't feel right. Nor did it feel right that she had to be punished, by being the warden in Hell, just because her asshole devil father wanted to ruin her life. Her life _would_ be ruined if she stayed here. She stopped as she felt his spirit radiate warmth and reassurance. "Home is the place where…" he took a breath, fighting the pain in his heart at the thought of Raven not being around, "when you have to go there, they have to take you in."

"Robert Frost," Starfire recognized the poet Damian quoted. He shot her a look, as if she had just ruined his 'pick up line'. "You _are_ full of surprises, Damian," she followed up with an encouraging statement.

"You're coming with us," Robin said cheerfully.

Raven opened her eyes, looking down at the shard. Then she looked back and her eyes met Damian's. And, at that moment, she knew he was right. Her home was with them. "You're not going to take 'no' for an answer," she said turning back to him with a soft smile. "Are you?"

"Hell no," Damian replied without thinking about it. Garfield started laughing his ass off at the irony of the comment.


	11. Home Sweet Home

CH. 10: HOME SWEET HOME

After stepping through the portal, the Titans were rewarded with the sight of the Tower plaza. The plaza that had a couple small craters, broken slabs of concrete, shards of glass, a fallen tree and a shattered fountain spewing water in every direction. "Damn!" Cyborg did a double take. "Did…did I…did we…?"

"Wonder Woman threw me through that fountain," Jaime explained, pointing out the battered scenic display.

"Well, in her defense…"

"Yeah, yeah," Garfield waved it off. "Demonic possession and all that. We get it."

"Still though…" He rubbed the back of his head.

"Erm," Damian grunted as a bolt of pain shot through his abdomen.

"Let's get everyone inside," Kori said as Raven helped Damian walk towards the lobby. "We still need to check on Batman."

When they arrived in the infirmary, they found Batman was sitting in a reclined position on one of the beds, but he was awake and coherent. That was a good sign. When they walked in, the first thing Batman noted was that his son was wounded, but it didn't appear to be too serious. That filled Bruce with relief.

The second thing he noted was that Raven was with them. That could mean only one thing. "I take it you were successful?" He asked the group.

"Trigon has been sealed," Raven explained as she helped Damian up onto the other bed in the room. "All his minions should be dormant now."

"You're certain he won't escape, again?"

"I'll be keeping a constant watch on him," she said holding out the shard. "He won't be a problem."

"We've got it covered, father," Damian reassured him as he removed his cape. At that moment, Cyborg stepped up to Batman and scanned his vitals.

"Blood pressure is a little high and heart rate is on the low side for normal," he explained. "But, considering you had a near lethal dose of nerve toxin in your system," he shot him a glare "which was crazy, even for you! All in all, you're looking good."

"Then I'd best get back to the Hall," he said as he hopped down. "We'll need to run scans and compile data to make sure Trigon's forces really are gone." He looked down to Raven. "I'll take your word, but I like to verify things myself." He then looked to Cyborg who opened a Boom-Tube to the Hall in Metropolis.

"Just send us the bill," Victor said to Kori as they made for the portal.

"Medical bill?" Batman asked.

"Landscaping," Cyborg clarified as they stepped through. Once the portal was closed Raven turned back to Robin.

"He didn't even ask if you were okay," she said as he removed his mask.

"He didn't have to," Damian explained. "If I'm up and walking he knows I'm fine. And we are in a state of the art medical facility."

"He's got a point," Kori nodded. "Raven," she turned to him. "Can you check on Garfield and Jaime? Have them run a patrol in the city. We need to reassure the citizens that everything is under control."

"I can do that," she nodded before turning back to Damian. She gently patted his forearm and gave him a soft smile. "Thanks." And with that she turned and left the med bay.

When Raven smiled at him, Damian felt a weird, warm feeling coming from her. It felt gentle, like a soft breeze coming in from the sea. He never felt something like that, but he liked it.

XXXXX

After Beetle and Beast Boy left for their patrol Raven went down to the plaza and, using her magik, removed the larger pieces of debris. She also cleared away the broken glass. No sense in letting their front yard looking like a warzone. They'd contract repair crews to come out and fix all the damage the next day.

As she was clearing away the debris, Raven was thinking how best to keep Trigon contained. Clearly leaving the shard alone, even in the Tower, would be too great a risk. But, how could she keep constant watch on him? It was a conundrum that she had trouble figuring out. With these thoughts in mind she began to walk back inside. As she reached the front door, she paused as she heard a vehicle approach.

She turned to see a Bat-Mobile pull up, swerving to miss the craters. The canopy opened and Nightwing jumped out. "Looks like I missed the party," he said as he walked up to her.

"You could say that," she nodded. "Everything has been resolved."

"Who did all this?" Nightwing asked as he surveyed the damage. "I came by to check on Damian and…"

"Short version: demons possessed the Justice League and we had to fight them. We eventually freed them and stopped the Devil from destroying the world."

"O-kay," Dick drawled. "I guess I'll have to get the long version from Kori. Do you know where I can find her?"

"She should still be in the infirmary," she explained. "She's unharmed. But Damian took a sword strike." She saw the concern flash across his face. "Relax. It's not too serious. He fought his grandfather in Hell. If it wasn't for him, we might have failed." At that moment, she had an epiphany. _'Damian might have an idea on how to watch Trigon.'_ She then motioned for Nightwing to go inside.

When they got to the infirmary, Kori was just finishing up stitching Damian's wound. It wasn't deep, but it did need to be closed-up to prevent blood loss and infection. This meant he was now shirtless, the blood-soaked garment lying next to his discarded mask, thus exposing his torso for Raven to take in. As she noted his physique, she couldn't help but feel a warmth flooding into her face.

His abs were nicely sculpted, but not _300-_ style. More natural and refined than over-exaggerated. The same was true for his chest area and biceps. He wasn't as muscular as some other guys, he was more streamlined. This didn't surprise her. Damian was more of a speed fighter and therefore stamina and agility were more important that brute force. He was still plenty strong, though. He just didn't have _big_ muscles.

"Heard you've had an interesting first week on the job," Nightwing said as he stepped up to Damian's side, opposite Starfire.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," his 'little brother' replied.

"Of course, it wasn't," Dick smiled, folding his arms. "Because battling demonic entities and hell-fiends was definitely part of the curriculum in the League of Assassins."

"Not that you would know," Damian shot a smirk back at him. "Er," he winced as Kori made another stich.

"Sorry," she said as she continued.

"I took the cut," Damian wiped some sweat off his brow. "I can take the stitch." He looked over as Nightwing prepared to say something. "Shut up." Grayson just snorted as held in a laugh.

"I came by to see how you were doing and what do I find? You. Almost disemboweled by Ra's al-Ghul?" He then looked to Kori as she finished tying off the stitch. "What's that all about?"

"I'll tell you about it in the main room," she explained. "Damian needs some rest now. We just got back from Hell." She then led him to the door.

"That's the second time someone mentioned 'hell'," he raised an eyebrow as they exited. "I'm guessing that's part of the story?" The door closed behind him.

When the door closed, Raven sat down in the chair Kori was just occupying. She examined the stitches on his abdomen. The cut had been made right between the two lower ribs. Thankfully his armored uniform prevented the blade from cutting any deeper and disemboweling him. "It could be worse," Damian said as he saw her concern. "And grandfather was one of the best swordsmen in the world."

"I guess that make you the best then?" Raven shot him a grin. "Now that he's…you know…?"

"I…guess…" He said as new emotions bubbled up. His grandfather, his hero, his mentor…this whole time he was an agent of evil. Just like everyone had told him. He didn't want to believe it. But, he wasn't surprised. _'I guess I knew the whole time,'_ he said to himself. _'I just didn't want it to be true.'_

"Sorry," Raven said as she felt his melancholia. "I didn't mean to…"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm sorry." This confused her. Why was he apologizing. "He's the one who let Trigon out…" He then explained what Ra's had told him and how he came to that conclusion. "He wasn't an actual demon; therefore, he could touch the crystal. He freed Trigon, and in exchange…"

"I understand," Raven cut him off. "But, you're not responsible," she said patting his forearm. "You shouldn't apologize for his actions."

"But, you were right about him," he replied. "So was father, and Grayson and everyone else. He was evil. I just…" he closed his eyes and forced himself not to cry. "I just didn't want to believe it!" Raven simply scooted up, drew her hood back and placed her hand on his temple. Her hand glowed blue as she showed him some of the scenes from her dreams.

" _For the past few weeks, I've been having visions in my dreams,"_ she explained as he saw the glowing eyes. _"I was having other dreams, nightmares, before that. They were warning me of Trigon and I tried to ignore them. I shouldn't have. If I hadn't I might've been able to stop all this."_ Then she showed him her other visions. The ones about the two swordsmen. _"But, then, I saw this…"_ He saw a red cloaked swordsman vowing to protect her and then battling another swordsman in a black cloak and black armor. He recognized the armor as his grandfather's instantly. _"It was a premonition…While the other visions were warnings about Trigon, these were trying to tell me that I wasn't alone in my fight. I now know that the Red Knight is you, Damian."_ She then showed him her perspective of the battle in Hell. He saw her watch him fight Ra's and then walk to the shards. _"I had all but given up hope. I felt weak and helpless. But, as I saw you fight your grandfather, desperately trying to buy me time, I felt empowered. Your courage gave me the strength and confidence I needed."_ He then saw her rise up and caste the spell to seal Trigon. _"If it wasn't for you, we would've failed."_ On that note, the visions ceased.

Raven removed her hand from his head. Combined with their experience in Hell, sharing her visions with him now made their sub-conscious, psychic bond permanent. The other day, she would've been opposed to such a bond. But, now, she wouldn't want to trade it for the world. The bond was what enabled her to feed off Damian's courage and win the day. And even if it wasn't, she still would not regret this bond with her new friend.

"I…I felt…" Damian struggled to find the words. "I felt everything…everything that you…" He looked to her. "What's going on?" He asked her, his eyes narrowing like they did whenever he cued in on something critical. "Why have I been sensing you and what you're thinking?"

"I'm afraid that's my fault," she explained. She then explained how she healed him when he got blasted by Beetle during their spar. "Your emotions were running wild, and, coupled with my unfamiliarity with you, I accidentally created this link, this bridge, as I healed your injury. It's not something that usually happens," she explained, holding her upper arms in embarrassment. "And I should've been able to prevent it but…" She just shrugged.

"Nothing that can't be fixed now," Damian shrugged too. "Can it?" She shook her head. "Well, it could've been worse." She looked up at him. The corner of his mouth upturned in a smirk, "I could've been healed by Beast Boy." Raven couldn't help but laugh at that.

As she giggled, Damian moved to get off the bed. He grabbed a fresh t-shirt that had been left out for him and covered himself. He then slowly got down and started out, Raven at his side. "Have you figured out a way to monitor the crystal?" He asked her as they headed for the elevator.

"I was hoping you might have some ideas," she explained. "I don't want to leave the crystal unattended. That would invite trouble."

"Can't you keep it on you?" He asked as they got on board. "I mean…" he looked at her from head to toe. He couldn't help but note the shape of her legs, how her leotard hugged her hips, her flat belly or her pronounced…mammaries. He blushed as he realized he had been ogling. He hoped she didn't _sense_ that. "I-I don't see any pockets…or…you know…" Unfortunately for him, Raven did sense _something._ She could feel an appreciative sense of wonder as he looked at her. She fought a small blush. But, then, what he said sparked an idea.

"I can think of something," she said as the elevator came to a stop at their floor.

XXXXX

The next day, Cyborg arrived to direct the repair work to the Tower. He insisted on it. Not that Garfield or Jaime objected; they thought he was cool. Damian didn't mind him either. Out of the members of the Justice League, he got along with him the best. Probably because he was the youngest, technically only eighteen years old, and he was the most laid back.

Damian kept his activities limited lest his stitches tear. Even if he wanted to do more training, he had 'watchers'. Knowing his propensity for mischief, of the Bat-Family variety, he was either being watched by Nightwing, Starfire or Raven. Of the three of them he preferred Raven since she didn't constantly nag him like Kori, or tell him to take it easy like Grayson. He wasn't stupid, he wasn't going to rip his stitches.

Over the next week, he also kept an eye on Raven. He knew she had Trigon under control, but, like his father, he believed in 'trust but verify'. Some would call this 'paranoia', he'd call it being prudent. She had taken to keeping the sharp affixed to her forehead like a chakra point. This enabled her to keep an eye on him without having to be devoted to it all day. She'd only need her regular meditation to keep it under control. Still, Damian kept watch, just in case.

Raven, Rachel Roth to the public, didn't mind his 'monitoring'. Since she could sense it, she knew where his concerns really lay. She also knew that, if the worst-case scenario were to happen, she could count on him to have her back. Knowing that, she felt confident that, together, they could keep Trigon sealed for all time.

She seemed to be doing well and he didn't sense any amount of worry, or apprehension coming from her. She later explained that Trigon attempted to force his way out, but his power seemed to taper off with every attempt. Now he'd all but given up. At first, she thought that maybe he was trying to lure her into a false sense of security, Damian agreed this would've been a good strategy. "That might be true," Raven agreed as she meditated while he worked some weights, exercising his biceps. "Except I've been examining the latent energy within the shard. He can't hide his power within the crystal. And I've been noticing that it's been declining even without him exerting it."

"Maybe being separated from his realm," Damian theorized, "cut off from his natural environment, weakens him. Similar to when Superman is taken into a room with the radiation from a red dwarf. He slowly loses power." That made sense to Raven. Still, until she was certain, she'd keep the shard where it was. Trigon still had a lot of power and it could be years before he was completely depleted of energy.

XXXXX

Eight days after defeating Trigon, Damian got a call from his father. His stitches had been removed that day; he healed quickly. He was still sore with his muscles still rebuilding themselves. That and his fractured rib was still healing. He was taking calcium supplements and they helped the healing process, but it still took time. It'd be another week before he'd be allowed to go back on patrol. Cyborg had also just finished overseeing the repairs to the plaza. He had almost become a common sight around here, chill and friendly, unlike some members of the Justice League.

"The toxin has been fully flushed from my system," Batman explained. "Wonder Woman and Flash have reported back that Themyscira, Europe and the American Midwest are clear. No signs of any demonic activity."

"Beetle reports the same for Jump City," Damian added. "And Nightwing has just finished canvassing the rest of the west coast. Aside from an unrelated incident involving a pagan couple in Seattle that got themselves possessed by prankster deities, he reports nothing."

"And the pagans?"

"Apparently the deities that possessed them just wanted some 'shore leave', as Nightwing explained. A few nights of hell raising and they left to go back. The couple self-admitted themselves to a psychiatric ward." His father nodded. Nothing to be concerned about.

"Superman is checking out the western pacific," Batman explained, moving on. "It's looking like the crisis is over."

"You haven't asked about the shard," Damian spoke up.

"Anything significant?"

"Nothing new," was his reply. "Trigon appears to still be losing power. How long until he's powerless, Raven doesn't know. Probably years." He looked to the side hesitantly.

"What is it?" Batman asked, seeing the reluctance on his son's face.

"It's nothing important," he replied. Still, his father looked at him and, being the 'World's Greatest Detective', he knew what Damien was thinking.

"It's about Raven," the Dark Knight deduced. "Isn't it?"

"It's nothing to be concerned about," Damian tried to brush it off.

"Personal attachments can be dangerous, Damian," he advised him. "They can be used against you, leave you exposed. Even used to force you to do something against your will."

"It's not like that, father," he shot back. "I-I just…"

"I'm not saying 'don't have attachments'," his father explained. "Just be careful with them. And don't make the mistakes I did." Damien nodded and took a deep breath.

"You remember what you told me? When I first became Robin? About leading humanity?"

"That you have to be a part of it?" Damian nodded.

"I…I think I understand it now," he explained. "And…I think it's better that I stay with the Titans."

"Are you sure?" Batman asked, his head rising in curiosity. "I think you've proven you can work with a team. Wonder Woman thinks you'd be a good fit in the Justice League."

"No offense," Damian smirked, "but the JL is a little too rigid for me. I don't think it'd be for the best. I need to learn how to be a kid, first."

"I understand," Batman allowed himself a little smirk. At that moment, Aquaman arrived in the Hall. Batman noted his arrival. "I have to go. Take care of yourself, Robin." Damian nodded and the feed was killed. He saw a familiar form in the reflection of the screen.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked as he stood up.

"Since 'leading humanity'," Raven replied as she stepped down into the common room with him. She had two plates of lunch, chicken casserole. "Did it have something to do with Ra's?"

"In a way," Damian replied as he took one of the plates and sat down. Raven took the seat opposite him. "Back when I first became Robin, my mother was captured by Deathstroke. We were on our way to rescue her. Back then I was always going on about taking over the League of Assassins and leading humanity into a better future. And if that meant killing, then so be it. But, father asked 'how could I expect to lead humanity if I was never a part of it'."

"Very poignant," Raven said as she took a bite of her food. "What did you think about it?"

"It made me realize that I had a lot to learn," he replied as he began to eat.

"And you think you can learn that here?"

"I think we can both agree that my biggest weakness are my social skills," Damian replied.

"That's one way of putting it," Raven smirked. "That's like saying a shaved bear is a disturbing sight." Damian's imagination was complimented by the sight of Garfield shape shifting into such a monstrosity. Apparently, that was a prank he was fond of pulling.

"Shut up." He retorted to which Raven giggled.

XXXXX

Two days later, Kori summoned the Titans to the main room for a call with the Justice League. Damian was already there, reading a book about the Devil's Brigade's assault on La Defencia in Italy during World War II. Raven was on the roof meditating but was easily able to abbreviate it to come down. Jaime and Garfield were playing an NBA game down in the rec-room, reluctantly pausing it report in.

When they arrived, the group lined up as the call went through to the Hall of Justice. Jaime and Garfield stood to Kori's right with Damian to her left, Raven at his side. In the week since their battle in Hell the two have been almost inseparable. Robin had just gotten the approval to do some 'light training' again. He celebrated by joining Raven in the simulator this morning.

What they found was that, due to their psychic bridge, they could coordinate their attacks with almost instinctive ease. Just like they had done in Hell. Kori noticed this and decided that Robin was best suited to be teamed with either Raven or Blue Beetle for big fights. She herself would be needed to coordinate the fights and Garfield was more of the direct attack type, just like Robin. He'd need to be paired with the ranged combatants. Thankfully, it seemed he could work with them both.

Back to the conference call, Kori knew this was the crucial moment when they'd learn if the Trigon Incident was indeed over. They all knew it was, but this would make it official. After this, they could stand down from an emergency footing and resume their normal patrols.

On the screen, Batman was in the center with Superman over his right shoulder. Wonder Woman was over his left with Flash just behind her. "Aquaman, and Shazam have completed their patrols, as have elements of USSOCOM, British and Australian SAS and GSG-9, who have shared the results of their special reconnaissance units."

"Sounds like a multinational affair," Beetle commented.

"This was a crisis that could've affected the whole world," Batman explained. "And even the Justice League doesn't have the resources to canvas the entire planet in under a week. Regardless, all parties have completed their surveys. I've sifted through all the data," he finally got to his point, "and found no signs of the corruptors in the ten days since our encounter with Trigon."

"In other words," Superman chimed in with a proud smile, "great work, Titans."

"Your determination and teamwork saved the world," Wonder Woman added as Damian shared a knowing look and smile with Raven. She smiled back, glad that she had such a loyal friend as Damian. She also starting to think of him as 'cute' in a moody teen kind of way. "And us," Diana added as well, remembering that they themselves had been corrupted. The Titan's had saved their bacon and then the world. She'd never forget that. "You should be very proud of them, Kori." Starfire bashfully shrugged at the compliment. She was indeed proud of them, but the praise still embarrassed her.

"As are we," Batman added evenly. Damian knew that last bit was more for him than anyone else. He felt pride at making his father proud, and hearing him admit it. But, just as the 'moment' had arrived, it was shattered.

A Boom-Tube surprised everyone as it opened up behind the Titans. "Hey, guys!" Cyborg called out as he stepped form the tube. He was holding a pair of pizza boxes, one in each hand, like he was delivering war trophies. In a way he kind of was and his grin was as wide as the portal. Truth was he enjoyed hanging out with the 'kids', it was more fun around them than in the 'majors'. "It's pizza night! Boom-Tube Delivery, less than thirty-!" He finally noticed that he had interrupted an important call. "…minutes." His shoulders slumped in embarrassment.

The Titans were all locked on him in surprise while Superman had a look of surprise that quickly turned to indignation. Wonder Woman's face remained frozen in silent surprise/confusion as well. Flash looked like he'd been betrayed. And Batman…he remained stoic. He was Batman, after all. He had a reputation to uphold. "Carry on, Titans," Batman said as the team looked back at him. Thankfully, he ended the call right there lest it become…uncomfortable. But, it was too late for that.

"Okay," Cyborg sighed, "that was awkward."

"Enough talk!" Jaime exclaimed as the teens rushed to the food bearer. "Let's eat!" Damian would never admit it, but pizza had become his favorite food since Alfred had ordered some for him a couple weeks after he first arrived at Wayne Manor.

He grabbed himself a slice before taking a seat near the window that overlooked the bay. He was soon joined by Raven. Kori also noted that they seemed to prefer each other's company. Damian preferred their 'intelligent conversations' to those with Garfield or even Jaime. And Raven saw it as her duty to her friend to help him open up.

Little did anyone know that their friendship was only just beginning. And no one could've predicted that it would help forge the future.

 _...The Titans Will Return!_


End file.
